Hundreds of thousands of women in low-paid work since 2008
19 August 2014
Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, 826,000 more women have moved into types of work that are typically low paid and insecure, according to research conducted by the Fawcett Society.
Tue, 19 Aug 2014Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, 826,000 more women have moved into types of work that are typically low paid and insecure, according to research conducted by the Fawcett Society.
Its report ‘The changing labour market 2: women, low pay and gender equality in the emerging recovery’, which surveyed 1,003 low-paid women, also found that since 2008 female under-employment nearly doubled to 789,000.
An additional 371,000 women have moved into self-employment, which is typically very low paid, and one in eight low-paid women describe themselves as being on a zero-hours contract.
Over a third consider themselves over-qualified for the job they are doing and more than one in five of those working below £7.44 per hour are educated to degree level.
Last year the gender pay gap increased for the first time in five years and now stands at 19.1% for all employees.
In a press statement, Dr Eva Neitzert, deputy chief executive at the Fawcett Society, said: “The evidence is clear: after five years of decline, the UK economy is back on the upswing. Employment is up, unemployment is down and GDP is improving. However, as our research shows, low-paid women are being firmly shut out of the recovery.”
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equality between women and men in the UK on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics, is urging the government to increase the value of the National Minimum Wage and support the take-up of the Living Wage by instating it across Whitehall.
“At the same time, more must be done to increase the availability of quality, part-time and flexible roles – again, government should lead the way by ensuring that all roles in the public sector are advertised on a flexible basis as routine,” said Dr Neitzert.
Its report ‘The changing labour market 2: women, low pay and gender equality in the emerging recovery’, which surveyed 1,003 low-paid women, also found that since 2008 female under-employment nearly doubled to 789,000.
An additional 371,000 women have moved into self-employment, which is typically very low paid, and one in eight low-paid women describe themselves as being on a zero-hours contract.
Over a third consider themselves over-qualified for the job they are doing and more than one in five of those working below £7.44 per hour are educated to degree level.
Last year the gender pay gap increased for the first time in five years and now stands at 19.1% for all employees.
In a press statement, Dr Eva Neitzert, deputy chief executive at the Fawcett Society, said: “The evidence is clear: after five years of decline, the UK economy is back on the upswing. Employment is up, unemployment is down and GDP is improving. However, as our research shows, low-paid women are being firmly shut out of the recovery.”
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equality between women and men in the UK on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics, is urging the government to increase the value of the National Minimum Wage and support the take-up of the Living Wage by instating it across Whitehall.
“At the same time, more must be done to increase the availability of quality, part-time and flexible roles – again, government should lead the way by ensuring that all roles in the public sector are advertised on a flexible basis as routine,” said Dr Neitzert.
