SWBG blog

Flexible childcare, an ideal or a necessity? A summary

Posted by Carmen Martinez on May 7 2024 at 16:31

The Scottish Women’s Budget Group (SWBG) is hosting a series of events focusing on the need to further invest in childcare in Scotland. To mark International Women’s Day, we delivered the second webinar of this series, Flexible childcare, an ideal or a necessity?

Our Childcare Survey 2023 found that women on low incomes, such as those working in the hospitality and retail sector, were less able to access the 30 hours funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) offer in Scotland, currently available to children aged 3 or 4, and some eligible 2-year-olds, due to a lack of flexibility in service provision.

This webinar sought to discuss this issue and explore alternative childcare models and other solutions, such as flexible working, so services can better respond to the needs of families in a modern Scotland. The webinar featured:

Dr Aleksandra Webb’s research, supported by the UWS-Oxfam Partnership, on the childcare challenges faced by mothers in Scotland's performing arts sector.
Perspectives from childcare providers offering flexible services via Flexible Childcare Services Scotland.
Other solutions, such as the role that flexible working policies can play in supporting families, discussed by Lisa Gallagher, Co-Founder and Director at Flexibility Works.

Why do we need flexible childcare services?

Dr Aleksandra Webb’s research helps show us.

Focusing on mothers whose job (fully or partially) involves performing on stages, on radio or similar, it provides a glimpse into the difficulties experienced by women whose work does not adhere to the traditional 9-5 schedule.

It’s clear that managing work and childcare is difficult for mother-performers. Their work conflicts with existing childcare provision, as nurseries tend to be inflexible and incompatible with work patterns in the performing arts and entertainment sector, which can mean mothers often lose out on the statutory state-funded ‘free’ hours. This problem continues for school age children, with a lack of suitable ‘wrap-around’ childcare outside of normal school hours, such as breakfast or after-school clubs.

Mother-performers also struggle to find suitable childcare solutions particularly when they lack personal networks through which unpaid childcare can be provided. Finally, Aleksandra drew attention to what’s called the ‘double pay’ penalty, which happens when mother-performers pay for regular childcare fees as well as any childcare costs during periods when artists perform away from home.

Two key policy learnings emerge from these findings:

Firstly, greater recognition of the needs of parents working in non-standard forms of paid employment is crucial. This means increasing funding for and improving access to flexible childcare services, including wraparound childcare.
Secondly, childcare solutions should be co-designed with parents, including those working out with standard forms of paid employment.

Is it possible to deliver childcare flexibly?

In short, yes.

While Aleksandra’s presentation centered around the reasons why the availability of flexible childcare services is crucial for gender equality, Susan McGhee, CEO at Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS), put the focus on ‘how’ to make this possible from a provider’s perspective, and the difference it makes for families.

Flexible Childcare Services Scotland was created in response to parents being unable to take up employment or education offers due to lack of high quality, flexible, accessible and affordable childcare services. Starting as a pilot project in Dundee, it scaled up to its current form, with seven settings across Scotland.

Amongst its different features, this service offers the possibility of making bookings (and payments) by the hour, changing booking patterns week to week, requiring no deposits or holiday retainers, and can cater for children and young people, from birth to 16 years.

The results speak for themselves, boosting incomes and improving parents’ mental health:

77% of parents using the service said that flexible childcare options helped them work more.
48% said that their household income had increased by 0-£2,000 per year.
12% it increased by £2,000 - £5,000 per year.
21% said their household income had increased by £5,000 + per year.

The survey also showed that more than half of the families using the service fall within the ‘priority groups’ identified by the Scottish Government as part of their efforts to deliver Scotland’s legal child poverty targets, including that fewer than 10% of children live in relative poverty by 2030.

Of course, there are difficulties running a service where there are no set bookings, but it’s still based on occupancy levels that guarantee business sustainability.

To help achieve this, Susan explained that FCSS uses Caerus, a ground-breaking childcare management software designed to help providers advertise and manage their services to offer a flexible model. She believes this software will allow FCSS to increase the scale of flexible childcare in Scotland.

While achieving maximum occupancy is harder using this type of model, delivering childcare flexibly is also more expensive due to higher labour hourly rates and other additional costs linked to providing wraparound care. However, Susan highlighted that this investment also puts money directly back into families’ pockets, further reducing poverty and boosting the local economy.

What other solutions exist?

Our final speaker, Lisa Gallagher, from Co-Founder and Director at Flexibility Works, got us thinking about how childcare and flexible working complement each other when it comes to helping parents (particularly mothers) balance their life and work commitments. Additionally, flexible working can also help businesses, the wider society and the economy by making it easier for employees to stay in work.

Flexible working can be about where someone works, when someone works and how much someone works. In other words, flexible working ensures workers have more autonomy over working patterns, which in turn can help with saving on costs, including childcare (i.e. breakfast clubs). Unsurprisingly, at 25%, the top reason why people work or want to work flexibly is due to childcare needs, according to Flexibility Works’ own research, followed by wellbeing (17%) and mental health (10%).

Flexible working is not just for office workers. While it might be difficult for those in frontline services to fully work flexibly, Lisa says there is still a degree of flexibility that can be applied to all professions. In relation to this point, she shared 10 practical actions which frontline workers say make a difference to their work/life balance, such as working compressed hours or being given time to pop out for small amounts of time during working time.

The benefits of flexible working:

66% of women looking to get back into work say being able to work flexibly was ‘essential’ for them to take up employment.
76% of unemployed adults looking for work have turned down a job because it wasn’t flexible.
35% of working women said that flexible working supports them to stay employed and support themselves and their families.
71% of employers said flexible working has been good for them; reducing sickness or increase the quantity and quality of candidates during recruitment while maintaining productivity.

While the focus of the webinar was about the role of ‘flex’ in supporting families to balance work and caring commitments, the benefits of flexible working go beyond this, and as such, Lisa called for all public bodies to lead by example with good working practices. In relation to its links with childcare, Lisa recommended that flexible working and flexible childcare is championed as part of the economic argument within the Scottish Government’s “New Deal for Business Group” and advocated for continued support for programmes that support women to return to work, should they choose to do so.

Increasing flexible childcare offer in Scotland

The availability of a wide range of childcare services is an important part of the puzzle to support families enter, stay or improve their employment prospects. Equally, ensuring flexible working is available to parents is another crucial solution to help families balance work and life commitments, including childcare. And for women, such measures can help to close the gender gap in the labour market, improving their economic prospects.

Making care visible and recognising the economic contributions that investing in childcare, and flexible childcare, has on the wider economy will be two of the key themes that we will discuss in the third webinar of this series. Keep an eye on our socials LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram

This webinar series is supported by Oxfam Scotland

Empowering Voices: Why Disabled Women Matter in the Scottish Budget

Posted on April 17 2024 at 11:57

Guest blog based on Jennifer Way-Ogunsola's reflections on our Women's Economic Empowerment Project. Jennifer is a policy analyst and Masters Student at the Wise Centre for Economic Justice.

The Power of Inclusion

In Scotland's vibrant tapestry, a group often goes unheard- disabled women. These women face unique challenges, often overshadowed in discussions about the rising cost of living. Their struggles are deeply rooted in societal barriers that hinder full participation and inclusion. Through our work at the WISE Research Center in collaboration with other feminist organisations, we witness firsthand the hurdles women navigate on a daily basis due to their lives often being unseen in the policy and budget contexts.

Sarah's Story: A Glimpse into Daily Realities

Meet Sarah, a woman I recently spoke with during one of our workshops. Her infectious smile masks the everyday struggles she faces. Simple tasks like accessing healthcare or securing employment become significant challenges due to her needs been unseen and unmet. The rising cost of living hits her especially hard – heating her home, powering essential equipment, and even traveling have become more expensive. A lack of adequate social support compounds these difficulties. Sadly, Sarah's story isn't unique. Many disabled women face similar difficulties, often living in poverty due to limited job opportunities, high disability-related costs, and insufficient financial assistance.

Statistics Paint a Stark Picture

Beyond personal stories, statistics paint a concerning picture. Women in Scotland already face a 9.7% pay gap compared to men (Scottish Government, 2023). They are disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis. This disparity becomes even more pronounced for disabled women. A recent study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found they are twice as likely to be living in poverty compared to non-disabled women.

Why the Gap Exists: Gender Pay Gap and Limited Opportunities

The reasons for this higher poverty rate are complex. One significant factor is the gender pay gap. Women in Scotland typically earn less, leaving them with fewer financial resources. For disabled women, the situation worsens due to limited employment opportunities; discriminatory hiring practices, lack of flexible work options, and inaccessible workplaces all contribute to lower employment rates within this group. Additionally, caring responsibilities often fall disproportionately on women, further hindering their ability to participate fully in the workforce.

The Intersection of Disability and Gender: A Double Disadvantage

Disabled women's challenges are intersectional. Their experiences go beyond being disabled or being a woman. These identities interact, creating unique obstacles. For example, a disabled woman may face physical barriers that prevent her from using public transportation, making it difficult to attend job interviews or training programs. Similarly, societal biases against both women and disabled individuals can create a double disadvantage in the workplace.

The Scottish Budget: Its Impact and Why it Matters

The Scottish budget isn't created overnight. It's a year-long process involving consultations, revisions, and parliamentary scrutiny. Ultimately, the budget allocates resources for vital programs directly impacting disabled women's lives. These include:

Independent Living Support:â€¯Provides financial assistance for daily living expenses and equipment for disabled individuals.
Carer's Support Payment:â€¯Recognizes the unpaid work of carers, often women, who support disabled family members.
Adult Disability Payment:â€¯Helps disabled people with the extra daily living costs.
Scottish Child Payment: Helps low-income families

However, this support while welcome does not fully address the economic realities of disabled women because they do not adequately cover the extra expenses disabled households incur. This has resulted in disabled women having to make difficult decisions about how they meet their needs. For example, choosing between skipping meals and heating their home. Recent research by SWBG and GDA found that 70% of women were cutting back on heating and 49% had skipped meals1. While the meager Carer’s Allowance/Carer’s Support Payment shows the limited value all levels of Government in the UK place on unpaid care.

Failing to consider the readily available evidence about specific needs of disabled women in the budget process risks underfunding these crucial programs and further embedding inequality. Cuts to social care services could force them to rely on family members for basic care, limiting their independence. Similarly, reductions in public transportation subsidies could make it difficult for them to access essential services.

Accessibility Barriers: A Hurdle to Participation

Imagine wanting to participate in shaping your community and holding the government accountable but experiencing barriers, such as:

Limited Access to Information:â€¯Complex government processes and a lack of transparency in decision-making can make it difficult for women to understand how policies are shaped and hold the government accountable.
Underrepresentation in Advocacy Groups:â€¯Disabled women may be underrepresented in advocacy groups and civil society organizations that hold the government accountable. This limits their ability to influence policy and bring their perspectives to the forefront.

This is the reality for many disabled women in Scotland, making it difficult for them to have their voices heard.

Lessons Learned and Paving the Way Forward

Our work with women highlights key steps to promote disabled women's participation. These are:

Education:â€¯Policymakers need better information on the lived experience of disabled women.
Breaking Down Barriers:â€¯Ensure barriers disabled women face that discourage participation in the governance process are removed.
Seeking Their Voice:â€¯Actively involve disabled women in the consultation and decision-making process.
Empowering Voices:â€¯Provide platforms for disabled women to share their experiences and advocate for change.
Gender Budgeting:â€¯Analyze how budgets impact different groups, ensuring resources promote equality.

The Transformative Power of Gender Budgeting

Gender budgeting is a visionary approach that analyzes budgets through a lens of inclusivity and equality. By considering the differential impacts on diverse groups, policymakers can craft policies that address specific needs and promote social cohesion. Stories like Sarah's and testimonies from individuals empowered showcase the potential for a more equitable future, which gender budgeting can actualize.

A Call to Action: Empowering Voices for Change

Educate and Advocate:â€¯Learn more about gender budgeting and how it can benefit disabled women. Share this knowledge with your networks and encourage them to take action.
Engage with Policymakers:â€¯Contact your MSP and urge them to consider the specific needs of disabled women in the budget.

By working together, we can ensure the Scottish budget truly reflects the needs of all citizens, including disabled women.

Equalities, women and cuts to public services

Posted by Carmen Martinez on April 15 2024 at 12:09

Our Coordinator, Carmen Martinez, reflects on the way in which Aberdeenshire Council justified its decision to close their out-of-school-hours care service and the language used by the Glasgow HSCP in their EQIA Budget Report, and questions whether these are examples of a broader trend.

A few weeks ago, Angela O’Hagan published her latest article ‘Gender Budgeting in Scotland since Devolution’ (O'Hagan, 2024), which reflects on how gender budgeting was introduced in Scotland, and its progress ever since. One of Angela’s points was about the “evaporation of gender in the framing of equalities" (O'Hagan, 2024), and the challenges that this has posed for advancing gender equality. She explains that this lack of focus has meant that the systemic issues that rely on women providing care, including unpaid care, are still to be tackled by the very economic strategies designed to transform or develop the economy (the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation being a clear example of this) (O'Hagan, 2024). As a result, so much needed (and promised) change is still to materialize, at least to the extent of making a difference to women’s lives.

The arguments and overall challenge described in the article certainly felt familiar. There is a lack of consistency in the way gender analysis is used in policymaking in Scotland, an issue that we (and other organisations across the women’s sector) often highlight through our work. Over the last few months, however, we have noticed what seems to be the beginning of a new trend which poses a further barrier to achieving the change that we want to see. I am referring to the way in which cuts to public services and/or policy programmes have been explained as a means to drive ‘equalities’ or how the co-option of language can hide the lack of public investment in services.

A case on point is how Aberdeenshire Council has justified its decision to close their out of school care (OOSC) provision. A report written for the Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee (Aberdeenshire Council, 2024) provides background information in relation to this service, which includes eight settings serving 15 of the 146 primary schools in Aberdeenshire and is used by 349 children (2% of primary school pupils). Current provision is down from the original 15 Council-run OOSC services set up in 2019. This is due to challenges with recruitment and retention of staff and to changing demand from parents/carers, partly explained by the impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. The report also highlights that while the service was originally set up to recoup costs, this never happened, and with increasing budget pressures, it recommends that the remaining open settings close from July 2024, solving an expected overspend of £700,000 (Aberdeenshire Council, 2024). From this perspective, the closure of this service is explained as a cost-management exercise. However, the report goes beyond this, citing inequities in service provision (both in terms of location of settings and the children the service is provided to), as another reason for stopping the council’s OOSC service:

“82% of children accessing local authority provision coming from Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) Deciles 8, 9 and 10 (least deprived) and no children from Deciles 1, 2 and 3 (most deprived)” (Aberdeenshire Council, 2024).

Additionally, the report refers to other issues with the current model, particularly how it "is limiting the scope of opportunity for developing the wider childcare sector", which involves private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) settings (Aberdeenshire Council, 2024). The key message is as follows. The Council are subsidising a small number of children in the least deprived areas, which isn't fair or equitable, while delivery is limiting the development of the wider sector. Thus, provision of such a costly service must come to an end, particularly at a time of tight budgets.

There are several issues in relation to how the Committee’s report presents the information leading to the recommendation on the closure of the Council’s service. For example, the use of the SIMD, while helpful, does not tell us anything about ‘who’ will be directly affected and in what ways. The report’s impact assessment shows that some consideration has been given to the impact on women and low-income groups. While this is slightly at odds with the argument about ‘inequities in service provision’, the main issue here is the use of ‘equalities’ as a reason to close the service. Why? Because it detracts attention from the consequences that the lack of wraparound care will have on women, their ability to seek or retain paid work, and the repercussions of this for gender equality. In other words, the Council’s decision seems to miss sight of the systemic barriers that ultimately create the conditions for women’s inequality and poverty.

The danger is that, with increasingly challenging budgets, this type of reasoning becomes the norm, resulting in more gender-blind approaches to policymaking and budget setting processes.

Another case is the language used by the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership in their Strategic Plan for 2023-26 (Glasgow IJB, 2023) and EQIA Budget Report 2024-2025 (Glasgow HSCP, 2024). "Maximising people’s independence" is the foundation of this HSCP’s Strategic Plan, which also acknowledges that "this doesn’t mean asking people to live without any support at all" (Glasgow IJB, 2023). However, the EQIA Budget Report concedes that

“efficiencies have been identified through the implementation of the Maximising Independence Programme (…) This option includes a reduction of 20 FTE. As a result of work to minimise the need for escalation to higher levels of formal care, there is scope for a reduction in staff in line with demand” (Glasgow HSCP, 2024).

This puts into question whether behind the Glasgow City HSCP’s objective of "maximising people’s independence" there was an intention to provide support only when strictly necessary, contravening one of the aims of the strategic plan to "deliver services within a human-rights based approach" (Glasgow IJB, 2023).. It also lends weight to our theory about this being a case where the co-option of language hides decreases in public service provision. As a result, the ‘status quo’ prevails, and with it, the challenges faced by disabled women as highlighted in our recent work with the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA, SWBG, 2023).

What now?

The Scottish Women’s Budget Group will continue questioning how public bodies make budget decisions and the impact of these. At a time when women are disproportionally being affected by the cost-of-living crisis, using gender budgeting tools to scrutinise policy interventions and budget decisions is as important as ever.

References

O'Hagan, A. (2024) 'Gender Budgeting in Scotland since Devolution', in Scottish Affairs 33.1: 72–84 . Link: Scottish-Affairs-Gender-Budgeting-2024-AOH-aeab676f04b2b794.pdf (bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com)
Aberdeenshire Council, (2024) 'Report to Education and Children's Services Committee. Aberdeenshire Out-of-School Care (OOSC) Provision'. Link: 07 Aberdeenshire Out of School Care OOSC Provision.pdf (moderngov.co.uk)
FEBRUARY 2024 07 Aberdeenshire Out of School Care OOSC Provision.pdf (moderngov.co.uk)
Glasgow City Integration Joint Board (2023), "Strategic Plan for Health and Social Care 2023-2026". Link: https://glasgowcity.hscp.scot/sites/default/files/publications/IJB%20Financial%20Allocations%20and%20Budgets%202024-2025.pdf
Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (2024), "Outcome of Preliminary Equality Impact Assessments", Budget Financial Allocations. Link: IJB Financial Allocations and Budgets 2024-2025.pdf (hscp.scot)
Glasgow Disability Alliance and Scottish Women's Budget Group (2023) Policy Briefing. Link: SWBG-GDA-BriefingPaper.pdf

Women and active travel: lessons from our work with Sustrans

Posted by Site administrator on April 10 2024 at 11:31

Our Training Lead, Heather Williams, discusses why the work we did with Sustrans is key to reducing inequalities in active travel.

Over the last few months, we’ve been working with Sustrans to look at how gender budgeting approaches can be used in the active travel field. Scotland has set out a vision for active travel to be ‘seen as the norm, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, or background’ [1]. While the Scottish Government has committed to spending 10% of the transport budget on active travel infrastructure, increased investment in active travel alone will not lead to the increased diversity needed to achieve their vision.

There’s a theory that says we measure what we value. If we look at active travel policy from this perspective, what do we see?

One of the strategic objectives in the Active Travel Framework [2] is ‘Reduced Inequalities’. Despite this, the outcomes and indicators focus on the need to improve the availability and safety of infrastructure for ‘all’ and on increasing the number of kilometres built.

This tells us something about where the strategic focus is of those involved in designing the active travel strategy. It also highlights why the work we have carried out with Sustrans is essential.

Our Women’s Survey [3] which looked at transport and active travel last year showed that:

Only 5% of those responding to our survey used cycling as a main mode of transport, this dropped to none for single parents.
17% used walking/wheeling as the main mode of transport, this increased to 23% for single parents
59% of respondents to the survey felt questions on access and safety of cycle routes was not applicable to them, 34% of respondents felt the same for walking and wheeling routes

Those who completed our survey told us that the reason they didn’t walk, wheel or cycle for journeys is because routes didn't take them to where they needed to go, or they didn’t feel safe on the routes available. Our survey echoed what other research has found, that women are more likely to trip-chain engaging in multi-purpose and multi-stop trips related to caring and other household tasks. Those who completed our survey told us that current infrastructure does not allow them to undertake these journeys in the time available to them:

‘There are "nice" cycle routes but a lack of safe practical routes between shops, train stations & home etc.‘

‘No segregated cycle lanes anywhere I need to go. Nothing that connects me to even simple places like post office, shops, etc. Some cycle lane for leisure, but not far'.

‘Kids go to school in next town to our home and I work in neighbouring local authority area so need to travel quite a bit to do school run and get to work'.

To help ensure that as many people as possible benefit from spending on active travel, our work with Sustrans has highlighted it’s essential that:

We know our local communities and consider the journeys people take and how active travel can support them to do this. This means asking why people travel and where they need to get to and designing routes which support these journeys.
We design (and fund) community engagement processes to help hear from a diverse range of people.
We collect sex disaggregated data on those who take part in any community consultations or engagement exercises, so we know who we have heard from and who we haven’t.
We carry out Equality Impact Assessments in the early stages of any project to ensure that they are as accessible as possible. These should be reviewed and updated as the project progresses.
We ensure that active travel projects support people to undertake care related journeys. This means looking at investing in infrastructure to support people walking and wheeling as well as in cycling infrastructure. The design of these need to be based on providing people with as direct access as possible to the places they need to get to.
We consider women’s perceptions of safety in the design of active travel schemes using tools such as “safety audits and safety tours” as standard practice.
We invest in social infrastructure as well as physical infrastructure in order to grow the numbers from diverse groups who walk, wheel and cycle. Projects such as Women on Wheels are essential if we are to diversify those who benefit from active travel expenditure. We have to recognise that funding these types of programmes is as important as building the physical infrastructure.
We ensure there is space for people to stop and sit in the design of active travel infrastructure.

As Transport Scotland take over some of the work which has been carried out by Sustrans, it is crucial that the learning from our work is taken forward and that those involved at all stages of delivering the active travel strategy are able to apply an intersectional gender perspective to address inequalities in active travel. If we continue to develop and design these projects as if they will benefit everyone without considering the need of specific groups, we will continue to embed inequality.

References

[1] Transport and Travel in Scotland 2014 | Transport Scotland

[2] Key policy approaches to improving the uptake of walking and cycling in Scotland for travel | Transport Scotland

[3] Womens-Survey-2023-Transport-Report.pdf (swbg.org.uk)

Women's Survey 2024 Launch

Posted by Site administrator on March 11 2024 at 10:56

On Friday 1st March we launched our Women's Survey 2024!

Our 2024 Women’s Survey is once again looking to capture women in Scotland's experiences of how they are managing the cost-of-the living crisis and the impact this is having on them and their families. While headline inflation figures have reduced during 2023 and into 2024, prices are still higher than they have ever been, and households' disposable income is lower now than in 2019. [1]

Our previous surveys have shown that women are often the shock of absorbers of poverty for their households skipping meals, not replacing clothes or shoes for themselves or skipping haircuts etc. to try and protect other family members from the impact of increasing costs.

‘Sometimes my meals are very different from everyone else’s’ [2]

The tactics women are using to manage their household budgets have been one of reducing spending on non-essentials to afford items like food and heat. Yet, our surveys have shown that for many this hasn’t been enough, and that single parents and disabled households often must make the decision between heating and eating.

With the UK having tipped into technical recession as a result of household incomes declining, as part of this year's survey we have added some additional questions around debt and savings. From previous surveys we know that women have been using savings or credit cards to manage regular monthly expenditure and that they are worried about the impact this will have on their retirement. This year, we want to explore the potential longer-term consequences of the current crisis for women.

Additionally, this year's survey also looks at public sector reform. In November 2023 we heard the Deputy FM say that

‘there was “no doubt” that staffing for services would have to be reduced due to tight budgets and inflation-driven pay deals’. [3]

Given the consequences that declining public services have on women, who often end up impacted or picking up the slack caused by this, we feel it's important that we understand what good public sector reform looks like for women and we want to hear from you about this.

Finally, with the country soon heading to the polls, we are keen to know women’s priorities for the upcoming UK General Election. Decisions made at Westminster have a great impact on women in Scotland. Analysis by the UK Women’s Budget Group last week showed that cuts to National Insurance contributions in the Spring Budget will benefit better off men, impacting on women’s inequality [4]. Let us know what really matters to you so we can advocate for policies that make a difference to women’s lives.

How can you help us?

We’d like to hear different views from women across Scotland. This is crucial for us to understand the different realities of women in all local authorities. We are particularly interested in hearing from more ethnic minority women, women that are carers, and women who are single parents.

We are also offering a £25 voucher to 10 people who complete the survey, this will be selected at random.â€¯

If you haven’t done so already, we’d like your support to share the Women's Survey 2024 to help us reach a diverse range of women across Scotland. You can do this by:â€¯

Sharing the survey through your social media account (if possible): LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter).
Sharing amongst your networks
Sharing with any women’s groups you might work withâ€¯

References

[1] https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-uk-families-suffering-worst-decline-living-standards-g7

[2] https://www.swbg.org.uk/content/publications/SWBG-Cost-of-Living-report-proof-06.pdf

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-67539045

[4] Tax giveaways to better off men will cost worse off women, says WBG - Womens Budget Group

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