Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:35 AM PDT
A further £12billion extracted from an already depleted social security budget will undermine the security of women and drive poor families deeper into poverty. Self evident really. But this is one of several policies outlined by the newly-elected Conservative government in the Summer Budget presented on 8 July. And the result will be increased personal debt, a rise in maternal poverty and greater care burdens on women. The Women's Budget Group, an independent voluntary organisation bringing together over 200 researchers, policy experts and activists – academics, trade unionists, and people who work for non-governmental organisations – was set up to provide assessments of UK economic and social policy and show the impact of government taxation and expenditure on women's everyday lives in terms of access to money, jobs, public services and to identify policies that are supportive of gender equality and women's rights. Key points raised in the Women's Budget Group analysis of the recent Budget are: That the £13billion of cuts in social security spending by 2020/21 will disproportionately hit families and women on low incomes, and the rise in the minimum wage won't compensate this. Instead the cuts in working tax credits will decrease work incentives for second earners and widen the gap between benefit recipients and the rest of the population; That included in the £13billion cut to social security is a reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000 in London and £20,000 elsewhere. This is going to force more families into debt and rent arrears, many will be forced to leave homes where they have community networks and jobs, and it will disrupt the lives of the poorest children. The House of Commons Library has already reported that four-fifths of those adults affected by the cap in 2014 were women, many of whom had several children; Raising taxation is welcome, including cuts in pension tax relief. However, such measures are partly offset by continued give-aways including: the poorly-targeted and expensive rise in personal tax allowance, the continued freeze in fuel duties and further cuts to corporation tax rates, all of which benefit mostly men as they are more likely higher-income earners and/or shareholders; Any increase in high quality childcare services is welcome; the pledge of 30 hours a week free childcare for all 3-4 year-olds is a step in the right direction. However, the policy is restricted to children whose parents are in paid employment. There is also little detail on how much the government will spend. If no extra funding is available the policy will simply compound existing problems in childcare provision such as the structural public underfunding of childcare, low availability of childcare places and quality issues; and The pay rise cap for public sector workers, combined with further cuts in departmental spending yet to be announced, will again affect women disproportionately and threaten employment retention and quality of public services. The impact of these latest measures – discussed in detail here – must be judged alongside the austerity programme implemented over the last five years. The Women's Budget Group also believes the Budget will widen the division between those who gain from Conservative government policies and those who lose from them. It will increase alreadu high poverty rates for children and women, and decimate vital public services and social infrastructure, to which women make an important contribution. And as the report concludes, this latest budget is a terrifying move towards permanent austerity, which will in turn have a devastating effect on women's security. The Women’s Budget Group also mentioned in their last briefing the budget insufficiently addressed the crisis in both childcare and social care, the burden of which will continue to fall on women. In short, the need for a radical alternative has become that much more urgent. During the run up to the 2015 general election the Women's Budget Group, in partnership with the Scottish Women's Budget Group, published a manifesto for change called 'Plan F', a feminist strategy for a caring and sustainable economy. To achieve Plan F there must be a shift away from the ideological pursuit of austerity and towards an economic strategy built on investment in social and sustainable physical structure. This includes investment in social housing, education, health and care. Caring responsibilities need to be shared through investment in quality public services. Gender relations in paid and unpaid work must be transformed. And the economic priority should be on fostering equality, human rights and sustainability. The Women’s Budget Group explained the details of the Plan F policies in its response to the April budget, and showed how the money could be found: Cancel plans for Trident – costing £100bn over the next 30 years; reverse tax giveaways – costing about £27bn a year; stop corporate welfare – reportedly worth around £93bn in 2012/13; and retrieve the billions lost in tax avoidance – estimated to cost the Exchequer up to £120bn a year. By continuing to cut public services and decimate social security, by spending too little on care and other social infrastructure, and by encouraging private debt while chasing a budget surplus, this government is creating a system that undermines the security of women and the poorest in society. This is unnecessary and wrong, the Women’s Budget Group concluded; Plan F is a more effective and fairer plan for current and future economic security for all.  |
| Crowdfund entrepreneurs against trafficking Posted: 23 Jul 2015 01:09 AM PDT
After a decade of fighting trafficking with entrepreneurship, HERA is gearing up for expansion. Founded in 2005, Her Equality, Rights and Autonomy (HERA) helps survivors of trafficking, conflict and other forms of violence take back control of their lives through access to professional skills development, academic expertise, creativity and entrepreneurship. In its first decade, HERA has provided training for more than 300 female survivors and 260 mentors, delivered 12 entrepreneurship and mentoring programs in four countries, and provided international micro-loans that have supported more than 500 new jobs. Having proven the success of its model through many inspirational examples, HERA is now seeking to expand its services to support more women in the UK and beyond, and power that by a new crowdfunding campaign. After starting with a pilot program in Serbia, HERA has for the past eight years delivered most of its core training programs in London, in partnership with Imperial College London Business School. HERA partners with the Business School to run an annual entrepreneurship course for survivors of trafficking and other forms of violence, designed to help each individual develop the skills she needs to gain economic independence and take up her chosen career. The project also offers monthly business and entrepreneurship seminars, open to HERA participants, mentors, MBA students and volunteers. Each participant in the entrepreneurship training is also paired with a professional mentor, who provides continued support over the following year – and relationships often continue well beyond the scheme. Philippa Monckton, who co-founded the project with Lynellyn D. Long, said it has been "truly inspirational" to see so many participants go on to integrate successfully into the UK economy on their own terms – becoming self-employed, launching new ventures, entering further education or training, and finding jobs and internships. Many have returned to share their successes with current HERA students, even re-joining the scheme as professional mentors themselves. HERA has also continued to provide support for women outside the UK through an international grants programme which aims to prevent trafficking in Georgia, Armenia, Moldova – including Transnistria – and Ukraine. This international branch of the project provides loans to small businesses run by women, enabling them to employ other women, meaning they are less vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking and the dangers of migration. The new crowdfunding initiative aims to support the extension of HERA's programs both within the UK and beyond. HERA is already establishing initiatives in both Paris and Seattle, and aims to launch more programs throughout Europe and the USA, replicating its current model through partnerships with many more business schools. Additional plans include an enriched monthly calendar of events for participants, and extending the international micro-financing scheme to provide employment and security for more women at risk of trafficking. You can find out more about the project and opportunities to get involved via the HERA website, and help with the next phase of its development by contributing to the crowdfunding campaign.  |
| Posted: 23 Jul 2015 12:18 AM PDT
By Yixiu Wu. A huge victory for Detox supporters came out of Europe this week as all EU member states voted to ban the toxic chemical NPE from textile imports. This decision closes a trade loophole that allowed clothing containing dangerous levels of NPE to enter the EU even though the substance is banned from regional manufacturing. So what exactly is NPE? Officially known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPEs are used in textile production as wetting agents, detergents, and emulsifiers. This toxic chemical then remains in the garment, released once you wash your clothing, breaking down to form toxic nonylphenol (NP). Nonylphenol is a persistent chemical with hormone-disrupting properties that builds up in the food chain and is hazardous even at very low levels. The wide use of NPE in the textile industry was brought to light by a Greenpeace International report, Dirty Laundry 2: Hung Out to Dry. Released in 2011, the report initially drew huge media attention, as it pointed out a loophole in the EU's REACH chemical regulations. And now it's banned in the EU? The EU already bans NPE from use within its borders however it allows garments containing NPE to be imported. This ban will need to be adopted by the European Commission, which should happen in the upcoming weeks and will take effect within five years, allowing the fashion industry ample time to remove NPE from its supply chain. How will this affect the industry? Manufacturing countries such as China, rely heavily on their trade relationship with Europe. For more than a decade, Europe has been China's number one trade partner and China's textile production needs that relationship to continue. That said, China's textile industry needs to be more progressive in identifying and banning harmful chemicals from their products otherwise they will lose a key market. What's next? Hundreds of thousands of supporters have called on high street brands such as Gap, Nike, and Diesel to clean up their supply chain. This is a huge win for a cleaner, toxic free future. We will continue to monitor this industry's use of NPE but we still need your help. The Detox campaign is far from won and we need your support if we are going to have all hazardous chemicals banned from use in the textile industry. Greenpeace is calling on the brands and suppliers to become champions for a toxic free future, by eliminating all releases of hazardous chemicals from their supply chains and their products. To find out more about this campaign, click here. Yixiu Wu is the Detox My Fashion Project Leader at Greenpeace East Asia.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |