Under the UK government’s furlough scheme, parents can be placed on furlough if they have caring responsibilities for a child who is at home as a result of school closures. However, a parent’s request for furlough depends upon the agreement of their employer, which is not always forthcoming. In this blog, Dr Isabel Tavora and […]
Getting women’s voices into policymaking in Greater Manchester
Progress toward achieving equality in life chances, so that all citizens can fulfil their potential, has been slow. Despite women in the UK having the vote for over 100 years and protection from equalities legislation since the 1970s, there are still significant inequalities in the educational, employment, care and retirement choices available to men and […]
Sharing the load: How work sharing can reduce unemployment, improve gender equality, and benefit mental health
The need to build back better has received widespread endorsement, not only because the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for change but also because it has revealed the high price paid by those facing inequality in the labour market, including inequality by gender. Here, Professor Jill Rubery, Director of the Work and Equalities Institute, discusses […]
Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021: Does the inclusion of ‘relatives’ go far enough in addressing the issue of adolescent to parent violence?
The Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021 will receive its third reading today. Once this long awaited Bill passes through Parliament, assuming it receives Royal Assent, it will ultimately mean that for the first time in England and Wales, there will be a criminal offence of domestic abuse. In this blog, Caroline Miles and Rachel Condry examine […]
Building back a gender balanced better – devolution, growth and equalities
As the initial period of lockdown is slowly relaxed, the policy agenda in all parts of the UK is turning to examine recovery from the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. Policymakers in our major city regions are considering how to start up and stimulate economic activity where safe to do so; help firms and […]
What COVID-19 tells us about the value of human labour
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a radical reassessment of what is considered ‘key work’ has taken place. For many key workers, however, this status is not reflected in their salary, employment rights, or social perception. Here, Abbie Winton and Professor Debra Howcroft, from the Work and Equalities Institute, discuss the disproportionate risk/reward equation […]
Suicide prevention in action: an update on the national programme
Nicola Richards, Research Assistant, and Cathryn Rodway, Programme Manager and Research Associate, work for the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH). In this blog, they discuss the progress of national investment in suicide prevention, and give examples of good practice developed from local quality improvement plans that should help to […]
Gender and ageing
As populations are now much more likely than ever to survive into old age, understanding how gender impacts all domains of wellbeing in later life has become critical. In this blog, Professor Debora Price argues that all policy analysis should be sensitive to gender and its interactions with other characteristics of disadvantage in later life. It […]
Gender and sexual violence
Sexual violence can have devastating consequences for victims. In this blog, Dr Catherine White, Dr Rabiya Majeed-Ariss and Professor David Gadd explore how gender intersects with social demographic characteristics to compound vulnerabilities and complicate access to services. Most adult victims of sexual violence are females, and perpetrators of sexual violence are predominantly male. In 2017, […]
In their own words: Women and austerity in Greater Manchester
In the eight years between 2010 and 2018, local authorities in England saw a reduction in Government funding of just less than 50%, with Manchester the tenth most affected council in the country. In this blog, Anna Sanders looks at how austerity policies have affected women in the Greater Manchester region, with a focus on transport […]