New polling: Public wants an economy that prioritises care and equality and they are willing to pay more tax for this

The Women’s Budget Group has releasing new polling data which shows overwhelming public support for urgent changes to the UK’s economy. The data shows that people want to see priority given to investment in care services and social security alongside more government support for women and men to share care more equally. Strikingly, a majority agreed that they would be happy to pay more tax to support this change.

There was also strong agreement for better wages and job security for UK workers with 69% of people willing to pay more tax to support well-paid and secure jobs for everyone.

The polling is being published alongside the final report of the Women’s Budget Group’s Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy. The Commission began in spring 2019 and convened experts from business, trade unions, civil society, and academia to develop a vision and practical proposals for how the UK economy can be transformed into one which promotes equality, wellbeing and sustainability – priorities that the polling has shown are key to people across the country.

This report, Creating a Caring Economy: A Call to Action, has landed at a time when people are looking beyond GDP as a measure of economic success. Polling shows that 68% of people agreed that wellbeing and standard of life should be used to judge the success of government economy policy.

Marion Sharples, Project Manager of the Commission, and author of the report said:

“This report has launched as we are entering a second wave of Coronavirus. For far too long the Government has been tinkering with policies and expecting these tweaks to deliver wholly different outcomes. What the polling and the Commission’s report show us is that in order to have an economy that works for everyone we need a bold vision of an economy that includes everyone.

Care is central to this vison. We will all require care at some point in our lives. At the moment care work isn’t shared fairly, with women doing the majority of care, both paid and unpaid. This means women have less time for paid work and other activities, so they earn less, own less and are more likely to be living in poverty. At the same time men are expected to be the main breadwinner, so they do not have the time to care for others.

Our polling shows that both women and men want to change this and they are willing pay for it through higher tax. The report lays out a vision of an economy where we have time to care, and time free from care. There is also a strong call among the public for the Government to help facilitate this change and our report lays out how we can do things differently. ”

Diane Elson, Chair of the Commission, Emeritus Professor, University of Essex and Consultant to UN Women said:

“When I began to chair the Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy 18 months ago, none of us could have imagined that by the time we were ready to publish our report, we would be facing a second wave of a deadly pandemic and a rise in unemployment predicted to be the harshest in decades. Covid-19 has illuminated and intensified existing inequalities and the ways in which our economy fails to ensure wellbeing and sustainability. Our report offers hope that we can do better and create a caring economy that remedies these failures.

Our vision for a caring economy not only benefits women – although it undoubtedly will. It benefits men too. It recognises that our existing economic model has also been failing men, especially when it comes to health, quality of life, and time to care for their families.

A caring economy will improve men’s wellbeing, as well as women’s, and create a more gender equal society that will enrich all our lives. Now is the time to start investing in this better future.”

Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director of the UK Women’s Budget Group said:

“The polling results shows strong support for investing in public services, equal distribution of care and higher wages for UK workers. The public is willing to pay for this in higher taxes.

The shift in public priorities shows that people want an economy that looks beyond GDP and actually works to make a real impact on the quality of people’s everyday lives.

This pandemic has highlighted just how vulnerable we all are to sickness; job loss and financial insecurity and people are now wanting an economy that is more resilient to this. This means investing in people and the public services that can help us live more fulfilled and healthy lives.

The public want to invest in public services that can help protect the most vulnerable and support the distribution of care more equally and there is a strong call for governments across the four nations to lead on this. During this pandemic, the public has seen how governments can intervene to protect people’s health and livelihoods through measures such as extending the social security provisions to include the furlough scheme and placing a ban on housing evictions. Now, there is mounting support for government intervention to continue far beyond coronavirus and extend to making a vision of a caring economy a reality.

The polling results send out a clear message. We are the economy and it is time the economy worked for us. Our report Creating a Caring Economy: A Call to Action sets out how we can build an economy that works for everyone. We call on the UK government and devolved government to engage with the findings of this report.”

Other key findings:

• 82% of respondents agree (54% strongly agree) that social care for older people and disabled people should be available to everyone based on their care needs not their wealth.
• 75% of respondents say they would pay more tax to support investment in free social care for all adults over the age of 65 and disabled people.
• Over half of respondents (55%) believe investment in social care, health and education is more important to the future of the economy than the Government’s preference for investment in transport and technology. 38% think it is equally important
• Three in four agree that economic equality between women and men is the mark of a good society and over half (55%) say it is a political priority for them
• 79% agree that a better balance is needed between paid work, caring responsibilities, and free time
• Two in three agree that the Government should encourage and financially support men to provide more care, rising to 76% in former ‘red wall’ areas
• 74% of the UK would be willing to pay more tax to support a pay rise for all key workers

You can access detailed tables of the above findings here.

Wellbeing, equality and the economy

• 80% of over 65 year olds believe wellbeing and standard should be used to judge economic success
• Three in five (57%) are more likely to vote for that party in an election that is committed to free social care for all adults who need it
• 94% aged 65+ in the UK agree that provision of care to children, older people and disabled people is the mark of a good society
• Three in four (75%) agree that economic equality between women and men is the mark of a good society.
• 64% of women aged 18-34 agree economic equality between women and men is a political priority
• 68% of Labour voters agree economic equality between women and men is a political priority

Equal distribution of care

• Four in five of all respondents (79%) and three in four men (75 %) agree that women and men should share care tasks for children and/or older and disabled relatives equally
• Two in three (66%) agree that the Government should encourage and financially support men to provide more care, rising to 76% in former ‘red wall’ areas

Tax

• 61% of the respondents are willing to pay more tax to support environmentally friendly public transport and 68% of 18-34 year-olds agree.
• 66% of the population would be willing to pay more tax to support equal access to affordable and safe housing

Social Care

• 82% of respondents agree (52% strongly agree) that social care for older people and disabled people should be available to everyone based on their care needs not their wealth.
• Three in five (57%) are more likely to vote for that party in an election that is committed to free social care for all adults who need it

Press office

Women’s Budget Group: Thaira Mhearban: thaira.mhearban@wbg.org.uk / 07838 222067/ Communications Officer

Fresh Communication: 0117 369 0025:

Nathalie Golden: nathalie@freshcommunication.co.uk / 07769 66 66 27

Lisa Sutherland: lisa@freshcommunication.co.uk / 07801 97 99 87

 Methodology

Our research is drawn from data collected by Survation on behalf of the Women’s Budget Group via online panel, with fieldwork conducted 3rd September – 10th September 2020. Invitations to complete surveys were sent out to members of online panels. Differential response rates from different demographic groups were taken into account.

The survey comprised an overall nationally representative sample of 2052 people. Data were weighted by age, sex, region, qualification, household income and past vote (2019GE, 2016 EU ref). Targets for the weighted data were derived from ONS and aforementioned elections.

About the Women’s Budget Group

The Women’s Budget Group (WBG) is an independent network of leading academic researchers, policy experts and campaigners that analyses economic policy for its impact on women and men and promotes alternatives for a gender-equal economy. Our work on coronavirus can be accessed at: https://wbg.org.uk/topics/covid-19/

About the Commission of a Gender–Equal Economy

The Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy is a first-of-its-kind, expert-led project which has worked to proactively develop alternative economic policies to promote gender equality across the UK. The Commission was launched in spring 2019. You can view evidence and briefing papers submitted to the Commission.

The report Creating a Caring Economy: A Call to Action is the final report of the Commission. It is a call to action which lays how we can create a caring economy that is gender-equal and prioritises wellbeing and sustainability. You can access previous Commission publications here.

About the Commissioners

The Commission is made up of experts working across sectors including representatives from non-profits, trade unions, academia, business, and journalism. Find out more about the Commissioners here.

Diane Elson is the Chair of the Commission and is an Emeritus Professor at University of Essex. She is member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy and is a consultant to United Nations Women. You can find out more about her here.

Attend the report launch: Creating a caring economy: a call to action

The Women’s Budget Group invites you to join this webinar, on Wednesday 30 September 10am-11.30am BST, exploring the work of our Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy and the digital launch of its final report. Register here

The final report lands at a unique moment in global history. Reeling from the first wave of a deadly pandemic, perched on the precipice of a deep and brutal recession, there was never a better time to ask: do we really want to go back to business as usual?

Join Chair of the Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy Diane Elson, report author and Project Manager Marion Sharples, and expert commissioners Zubaida Haque, Angela O’Hagan, Lynn Carvill, Duncan Fisher, and Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, as they reflect on the final report of the Commission, and the impact of its recommendations. The discussion will be chaired by Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.