Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
According to recent figures, 13.4 million people in the UK are living in poverty - with numbers expected to rise during the cost-of-living crisis.
However, some groups are more affected by financial constraints than others, including women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community, according to Rosie Learmonth of the Smallwood Trust.
The Smallwood Trust provides grants to organisations and individuals and works with partners to improve women’s financial wellbeing, as well as their social and emotional health.
Paul Canerby, CEO of the Trust, said that the impact the crisis had on women was “disproportionate.”
“It starts when [women have] the main responsibility of childcare, but as they go through their lives, they also end up being responsible for elderly relatives as well,” Paul explained.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
“There are more women in poverty than me, as a result of a whole load of intersectional and systematic issues, some of which are do with care responsibilities, and a whole load of other challenges as well.”
The most recent government statistics on the “mean gender bonus pay gap” revealed there was an increase in the difference between men and women – which amounts to a cash difference of £76.18.
“When women are in employment, they are concentrated in low-paid jobs, like retail or hospitalities staff, and they’re more likely to be let go, be in inflexible working hours or unstable working hours and be paid less as well,” Rosie said.
Comments