Research findings launched on International Women’s Day have put the huge local economic cost of the systemic barriers to paid work for women firmly in the spotlight.
The analysis by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) and the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) reveals that barriers to paid work for women have led to a loss of £88.7bn in gross value added (GVA) in England, Scotland and Wales annually.
To give a sense of scale, this is equivalent to the contribution of the entire financial services sector in the UK.
Delving into the data, head of local economies at CLES, Leah Millthorne, says: ‘The differences in economic activity refers to the differences in the proportion of men and women in paid work or available to look for paid work.
'And the proportion of GVA as a result gives us this indication of the scale of the economic impact of that disparity.
'We’ve estimated the additional GVA produced if the economic inactivity rate of women equaled that of men in each local economy.’
She adds: ‘For each local economy across England, Scotland and Wales this can account for anywhere between 0.5% and 9.5% of total yearly economic output.
'Within that there are large regional disparities.’
The highest estimated annual lost GVA due to economic exclusion of women rates are in Outer London, the West Midlands, Lancashire, Tees Valley and Durham, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, West Yorkshire, Kent and Greater Manchester.
Ms Millthorne says there is also a positive correlation between this economic exclusion and child poverty rates.
Areas with higher proportion of GVA lost because of the economic exclusion of women have higher proportions of children in poverty.
Ms Millthorne adds there is also the 'high and rising cost of childcare to consider and wages undermined by the gender pay gap, which is pricing women out of work’.
And a survey of more than 4,000 women by the British Chambers of Commerce has found that 67% believed childcare duties in the past decade had cost them progress at work, with almost 90% believing that additional support was needed.
Acting director at WBG, Sara Reis, says the findings don’t capture the social cost of the systemic barriers to paid work, adding: '[The] loss of connection, sense of accomplishment and mental challenge for women excluded from paid work is immensely damaging for both their individual health and the wellbeing of our communities.'
In recognition of these impacts, the next stage of the research project will involve CLES and WBG partnering with Leeds City Council to gain a better understanding of how gender inclusion can be prioritised in the development and implementation of economic strategies.
Returning to Ms Millthorne, she says the next stage of the project is ‘all about looking to the future and how we can create a more inclusive economy across different measures but particularly at the barriers women face’.
She adds: ‘We all know women experience inequalities every day.
'At home, at work, in their incomes, in business, in housing, in transport.
'And on average women in the UK earn 30% less than men, and do 60% more unpaid work than men, and accumulate half the private pension wealth that men do, and are less able to afford housing so these inequalities are compounded as well by wider systems of disadvantage.’
The three partner organisations plan to work together to 'engage with women from all walks of life to explore what it means to put gender equality at the heart of local economic development’.
They will talk directly to women of different backgrounds to understand what barriers they are facing and how economic development can better consider those in strategy, action planning and programme delivery and ultimately in the local economic models.
She adds: ‘The ultimate aim of the study is to provide decision makers with better insights into the lived experience of women, enabling them to design and tailor interventions to support economic inclusion in their communities.
‘The reason why it’s a great time for Leeds to pilot this work to take it forward is because they are currently in the process of producing a refreshed inclusive growth strategy for the city, and this time round we can really put gender at the heart of that strategy.’
The findings are sure to be enlightening.
Interactive map visualisation published here
