Reports
A shorter working week as part of a green caring economy
Date Posted: Monday 7th February 2022
UK Feminist Green New Deal Policy Papers
Read the full policy paper here.
In this report, we argue that a shorter working week, as part of a wider set of policy changes, can promote gender-equal distributions in paid work, unpaid work, and income, while facilitating a green transition.
The paper analyses time-use data and evidence on the impact of Covid-19 on working patterns together with international case studies and makes a series of policy recommendations. We explore what other mechanisms are needed in order to ensure that a shorter working week and a green transition are equitable.
Policy experiments in shorter working hours are ongoing, with trials for a four-day week currently being designed in Spain and Scotland, and employer trials beginning here in the UK. A shorter working week, in combination with an expansion in public social infrastructure and universal basic services, is an important measure to address the social and political consequences of dysfunctional health and social care systems, extreme inequality, and environmental breakdown.
Read the full policy paper here.
Event: Join us on Tuesday 8th February to discuss the report
We’ll welcome the authors of the paper Professor Özlem Onaran and Robert Calvert Jump (University of Greenwich) to present a summary of the paper, their conclusions and recommendations.
The event will be chaired by Anneliese Dodds, Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Oxford East and Chair of the Labour Party and the Labour Party’s policy review.
We’ll also hear from Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, Afzal Rahman, Policy Officer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and a representative from a business that has transitioned to a shorter working week.
We will look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday 8th February from 13:00-14:00
About the Feminist Green New Deal project
The Feminist Green New Deal is bringing a gendered and intersectional approach/perspective to the Green economy/Green Recovery – ensuring that the voices of women, people of colour and other marginalised groups are heard during environmental and political debates.
Through a programme of nationwide grassroots workshops and policy roundtables a Feminist Green New Deal Manifesto will be created and launched in 2022.
This Project is a collaboration between Wen (Women’s Environmental Network) and the Women’s Budget Group (WBG).