Mind the Gap

The women that policy forgot
Authors:
Celia Hannon, Shawnee Keck,


How have thirty years of legislation, innumerable work based initiatives and training schemes failed the primary group of people who experience working poverty in Britain?

Policy countering gender discrimination has not gone far enough. Macro level approaches that established government departments and research taskforces represent an impressive start, but the next phase must look to the micro-level. Policy must start to address the day-to-day reality of young disadvantaged women. This includes appreciating how cultural, practical, and social issues join up to create significant barriers that severely hinder their economic mobility.

This report, commisioned by the YWCA, looks again at the nature of low pay and job segregation, but this time, it considers the local actors and micro level locations of responsibility. It delves deeper into who disadvantaged women are and the impact their different backgrounds and experiences might have on their employment prospects. It argues that we need a new set of policies focusing on the everyday exchanges in women’s working lives. ( PDF download for full text - below)

http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/mindthegapreport

sent by Lígia Paz