Women more likely to live in poverty
Press Association
Wednesday September 17, 2003
Women are more likely to be poor than men but the true
extent of their poverty is hidden, a report said today.
Official figures show women are 14% more likely than men to
live in households with incomes that are 60% below the
national average - the official measure of poverty, the Equal
Opportunities Commission said.
But its report, Gender and Poverty in Britain, found that the
real number of women living in poverty is likely to be much
higher.
It said official statistics measured income by household,
hiding the fact that women generally have a lower income and
fewer assets than men, and may not be given an equal share
of the income if the man is the main earner.
There is a widespread assumption that women have men's
income to fall back on, but this is out of touch with the lives of
many women today and is one of the key reasons why women
are more likely to face poverty than men, the group said.
Government statistics show that almost half of all women have
total individual incomes of less than £100 a week, compared
with less than a fifth of men. Taking time out of work to bring
up children, the high number of women in part-time or low paid
work and the gap between women's and men's average pay all
contribute to women's poverty, it found.
"As long as it is assumed that women have a man's income to
fall back on, women will continue to be financially worse off
than men throughout their lifetimes," said Julie Mellor, chair of
the EOC, as she called on the government to take action.
"This assumption simply doesn't reflect the reality of many
people's lives today, where the rate of relationship breakdown
is, sadly, high and women are still likely to outlive their
partner."
Many government initiatives, such as the minimum wage and
working families tax credit, have been particularly good for
women because there are more low paid women than men,
she said - but without a specific focus on women's poverty,
future policies might not be so successful. "The government
needs to rethink its approach to the pensions system, which
is based on a model of full-time working that doesn't reflect the
reality of many women's lives," said Ms Mellor.
"It must continue to press employers to check their pay
systems are fair, and childcare should become a fundamental
part of the infrastructure of the UK, so that every parent who
wants it has access to a place for their child."
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