SNP candidate for Renfrewshire North and West Natalie Don has said we must do more if we want to truly see an increase in opportunities and job prospects for women across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. The SNP woman is confident that herself and the SNP are committed to delivering this for women going forward into our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Natalie Don has highlighted a new report by charity ‘Close The Gap’ which shows the disproportionate impact that covid-19 has had on women in Scotland. The new report by Close The Gap shows that women’s unemployment in Scotland rose twice as fast as men’s at the start of lockdown (March-May 2020), a rise of 1.5% on the previous year compared with 0.7% for men. It says job disruption has disproportionately affected women because men and women tend to work in different jobs and sectors. More than a third (39%) of young women workers under 18 were furloughed in the UK, compared with 29% of male workers of the same age, and 23% of women aged 18-24 were furloughed compared with 19% of men.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women because men and women tend to work in different jobs and sectors. The report shows that women’s employment continues to be disproportionately affected by Covid-19 – one year into the pandemic.
Women’s concentration in low-paid service sectors such as retail and hospitality put them at risk of not just the furlough scheme but also reduced hours and pay cuts, and future job losses. Meanwhile, school and nursery closures have driven up an increase in childcare making it difficult for women to do their paid work from home, where this is required by their employer.
Natalie Don has stated that this disproportionality has been recognised by the SNP who have pledged to put women at the centre of the recovery from covid-19 with a range of commitments to improve economic and employment opportunities. This includes the establishment of a Women’s Business Centre, backed by £50m of investment, to unlock the potential of the next generation of female entrepreneurs, measures to help women financially at key moments in their life, such as suspending the interest on student loans during maternity leave, a pledge to continue work to make Scotland a safer place for women and girls to live - with a new multi-year £100 million funding stream over the next three years to back the Equally Safe strategy, support frontline services, and focus on prevention of male violence against women and girls and education on healthy respectful relationships. The SNP have also pledged to embed human rights in law in Scotland, they hope to do this by incorporating into Scots Law the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Commenting on the report SNP candidate Natalie Don said:
“Women already faced stark inequalities in the job market and this report shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has exasperated this even further. We already know women are more likely to work in low-paid service sectors such as retail or hospitality and these sectors have been massively disrupted by the pandemic. A year on and women’s incomes are still being hit harder by the pandemic.”
“Covid-19 is disproportionately pushing women, especially low paid women, young women and black and minority ethnic women, into poverty. They have had to suffer hours being cut, being furloughed, accepting reduced pay, and in many cases unfortunately losing their job altogether.”
“School and nursery closures meant more women having to struggle with working from home while providing childcare and managing home learning. Many new mothers, myself included, missed out on the support networks available for new mothers on maternity leave, impacting on women’s confidence to get back into the job market.”
“Women have been on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19 - and that means we must be at the centre of our plans for recovery. It is time for action. Scotland’s economic recovery must protect women’s jobs and lift them out of poverty. I am confident that the SNP is the only party that will put women at the heart of our covid recovery. Nicola Sturgeon has already announced the establishment of a woman’s business centre for Scotland and other key measures such as the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women into Scots’ law. It is ambitious policies such as this that will help drive women out of poverty in Scotland and end employment discrimination for Scottish women.”
