Submission to the Treasury Select Committee inquiry into the Economic Impact of Coronavirus
The Women’s Budget Group has submitted written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus.
Press Release
WBG highlights oversight in the pandemic response, particularly in supporting women in the labor market and caregiving roles.
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director of the Women’s Budget Group said today:
This report, and its recommendations are very welcome. As the Committee recognises, ‘existing gendered inequalities in the economy have been ignored and sometimes exacerbated by the pandemic policy response’.
While the Coronavirus job retention scheme and self employment support scheme have protected the jobs and incomes of many, we agree with the Committee that ‘the design of these schemes overlooked – and in some respects continues to overlook – the specific and well-understood labour market and caring inequalities faced by women.’
We are very pleased to see the Committee recommend that the Government examine our proposals for a care led recovery
Our research shows that investing in care would create 2.7 times as many jobs as the same investment in construction: 6.3 as many for women and 10% more for men. We share the Committee’s concern ‘the Government’s priorities for recovery are heavily gendered in nature. Investment plans that are skewed towards male-dominated sectors have the potential to create unequal outcomes for men and women, exacerbating existing inequalities’
We support the call from the Committee for the Government to carry out and publish meaningful Equality Impact Assessments of its policy responses to the pandemic. We share the Committee’s concern that Ministers appear dismissive of the obligation under the Public Sector Equality Duty to consider the impact of policy on people with protected characteristics including women.
In particular we are concerned about two comments from Ministers cited in the report that suggest a lack of understanding of equalities impact:
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Treasury has a legal obligation to have due regard to the impact of its policies on equality. If Treasury investment decisions are targeted at male dominated industries this will disproportionately disadvantage women workers.
In response to this evidence, Kemi Badenoch MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, told the Committee: I have not heard those criticisms. I can find out and ask officials to look into what our response is on that. I do not know of the gendered impact on statutory sick pay. Again, we look at these things mostly in the round’.
Kemi Badenoch is an Equalities Minister as well as a Treasury Minister, so should be aware that 70% of workers unable to claim statutory sick pay are women.
Our most recent report on the gendered impact of Covid 19 is here
The Women’s Budget Group has submitted written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus.
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