85% of recent welfare cuts hit women on a low income

Over the last five years the government has reduced the local as well as national welfare schemes and other benefits by about £26bn. Of that amount, about 85% of the cuts have impacted programmes in which women are the main beneficiaries according to a report by Engender. This is drastically reducing their income and even causing many to fall into poverty.

The report specifies the impact from many of the welfare schemes, as noted below. Each one will hit women in some way, some more than others. Whether it is the housing benefit or Universal Credit, the impact has been major.

Housing Benefit Cap is one example in which the cut backs have impacted women very hard, in particular singles. Both unpaid carers and lone mothers are getting hit. Also, single females are estimated to be faced with up to 60% of the reduction/changes to this cap. This has lead to an increasing number of evictions in the UK or even families needing to be resettled into housing maybe miles from where they currently live.

Child Benefits are one of the main UK welfare schemes for trying to end the cycle of poverty. The aim was to help to try to pay for a portion of the bills while the child is under the age of 20, if the parent is in job training. Over 90% of the funding for child benefit was to women, and this may take a big hit in the latest welfare reform schemes being proposed.

Over 70% of the people that receive Carers Allowance (CA) are women. The government will make welfare payments to people who are caring for another over 35 hours per week. However most of the money for CA does go to women, and cutbacks to that will also impact their ability to live independently.

In general, up to 20% of a women’s income comes from the safety net. This is twice as high as men. There are many reasons for this, including women make up most of the population that cares for others, they have lower wages, and women often have and care for a child. Since up to 20% of their income does come from some form of welfare, when these schemes are cut by over £20bn in a matter of years, they take a major hit.

Employment support programmes are also being reduced. Many women try to find a job after caring for others for many years of their lives. When they attempt this, sometimes when they are older and have been jobless for a period of time, the training they need is not there. It is estimated that up to 70% of the funds for employment support are for women.

Social security in the UK is being divided between ages, races, and genders. Once solution to this is welfare reform mitigation. Charities such as Scottish Women’s Aid, Council for Voluntary Organisations, Close the Gap, and others created Engender to help bring light to this issue as it does seem as if the reductions to the safety net are targeted to once specific group.