Women's Views on News |
| Why women face pension poverty Posted: 03 May 2016 02:32 PM PDT
The reaserch, published by the Fawcett Society as a paper called 'Closing the Pensions Gap: Understanding Women's Attitudes to Pensions Saving' examined why women save less than men. The study was carried out in conjunction with Dr Liam Foster and Martin Heneghan from the University of Sheffield and supported by Scottish Widows. It found that while most women interviewed believed they should be financially independent, many had cut their own pensions contributions to cover the costs of childcare or as a result of taking time out of work to look after children. Often these women were relying more on their partner for a secure retirement than they realised. The Scottish Widows' 'Women and Pensions Report 2015' revealed that only 52 per cent of British women are saving adequately for retirement, compared to 60 per cent of men, and even when women earn the same as men they still save less into their pensions. And 25 per cent of 30-49 year old women are saving nothing for their retirement compared to 15 per cent of men from the same age group. The pay gap – still at 13.9 per cent for full time workers according to the ONS – becomes a 40 per cent pensions gap in retirement, but women save less even when they earn the same amount as men. Sam Smethers, the Fawcett Society's chief executive, said: "The gender pay gap becomes a pensions gap in retirement. "In particular women are taking a big hit on their pensions when they have children, but are not aware of the impact this will have on them in the long-term. "Women are putting everyone else's needs before their own, especially when it comes to who pays for childcare. "Their baby becomes her childcare bill." The Fawcett Society’s research explored the reasons for this and found that underpinning many decisions about pensions were traditional ideas about male and female responsibilities. Most women interviewed were unaware of the financial consequences for themselves of the impact of unequal caring responsibilities and the savings decisions they are making. Many of those interviewed sought pensions advice from men (e.g. fathers or partners) or defer to them when it comes to decision-making about pensions. They display a lack of confidence, which is undermining their financial independence and decision-making. The report suggests that gendered assumptions about maths at school, and girls and women put off by a 'masculine' financial environment is partly to blame. Student debt and the costs of a family were found to be key barriers to saving for these women. Automatic-enrolment (AE) is a welcome way to simplify starting a pension but, says the report, AE payments will not be enough to ensure sufficient income in later life. Smethers continued: "We need to make sure couples are aware of the impact of one partner cutting their pensions contributions to pay for childcare and encourage them to share these costs more equally, including encouraging fathers to contribute to their partner's pensions if they are taking time out of work to care. "We can do more to support women to increase their contributions as well. "One solution we are proposing that student loan repayments or childcare voucher payments could default to pension payments once they are no longer needed. "This study focused on an under-explored area of research; the reasons for lower savings rates, which cannot be explained by lower earnings. "It looked at a range of areas, including women's attitudes to pension saving, how much they think they know about it, whether they prioritise saving into a pension over other forms of saving, whether they believe that they have different financial roles and responsibilities to men, and who they rely on for advice." The Fawcett Society is calling for a number of key interventions to ensure that women save more during time off to care. Student debt and costs of childcare prevent women saving – loan repayments and childcare voucher schemes could be converted by default into pensions contributions once they are no longer needed. Employers and the pensions industry should send targeted information to those going on maternity, paternity or shared parental leave explaining the impact of reducing pension contributions. Small employers should receive additional help from government to do this. The partner who stays in work (usually a man) should top up their partner's pension contribution if they take time off to care. This is not about making women dependent but about ensuring the true cost of having a family is shared between the couple and does not fall primarily on the main carer, who is usually a woman. Childcare should be seen as a joint cost so that it doesn't just come from the mother's salary. A woman should not be the only partner reducing or ceasing their pension payments because childcare costs make them unaffordable. And a carer's credit for private pensions through auto-enrolment is needed to ensure women who take time off to care don't find themselves in poverty in later life. Jackie Leiper, retirement expert at Scottish Widows, said: "The findings of the [Fawcett] report echo those of our own, showing a clear shortfall developing when it comes to retirement savings between men and women in their 30s. "Despite similar levels of engagement between men and women in their 20s, this begins to drop at an alarming rate over the following decade. "While not all changes in circumstance can be planned for, it shouldn't mean the end of financial independence. "Together, the industry, government and employers need to do more to ensure families and women in particular remain engaged with the need to prepare for the future to avoid jeopardising their financial security."  |
| Join sexual violence in schools inquiry Posted: 03 May 2016 02:14 PM PDT
The UK government's Women and Equalities Committee has launched a parliamentary inquiry into the scale and impact of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools. Data published in September 2015 showed that 5,500 sexual offences were recorded in UK schools over a three-year period, including 600 rapes. A 2010 YouGov poll of 16-18 year-olds found 29 per cent of girls experienced unwanted sexual touching at school and a further 71 per cent said they heard sexual name-calling towards girls at school daily or a few times per week. In 2015 Girlguiding UK found that 75 per cent of girls and young women said anxiety about potentially experiencing sexual harassment affected their lives in some way. The same survey found that 90 per cent of young women aged 13-21 agree that the government should make sure all schools are addressing sexual harassment and bullying in schools. Prior to launching this inquiry, the Committee gathered the views of 300 young people from across the UK through a series of workshops run by Fixers. Young people reported that schools were not playing their part in recognising the pressures young people are under when dealing with matters of sexual harassment and sexual bullying; teachers may brush off incidents of sexual assaults or sexually threatening behaviour because of students relatively young ages; and that many incidents go unreported because students are worried that victims will be punished as well as perpetrators. Gemma, 22, who participated in one of the wokshops, said: “Lad culture is a big issue; it is really common. In my school lads would come up to girls and grab their ass, try and push them into the changing rooms and stuff and then say don't get upset it's just banter.” Ella, 17, said: “Say, if your bra got undone they would give a warning and that would be the last of it. [Teachers] wouldn't really bring it up, they'd tell them to 'sit down, stop messing around, do your work' and then it wouldn't get reported anywhere else.” And Charlotte, 18: “At my school a girl was pressured into performing oral sex on an older boy in school. They were caught and both suspended for the same amount of time. “I can see it is difficult for schools to get that right. They've got to be seen to be doing something, keeping the school's reputation in check and deciding what to do is a tricky business. “Schools,” she conlcuded, “are not equipped to deal with emotional analysis.” The Committee has issued a call for evidence, and is looking for written evidence that focuses on one or more of the following issues: 1. Establishing the scale of the problem. How much sexual harassment currently occurs in primary and secondary schools? Who are the targets of harassment and who are the perpetrators? How often are teachers the victims of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools? Are levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence increasing in schools? How well is the problem being recorded and monitored? 2. Understanding the impact of sexual harassment in schools. What impact does sexual harassment and sexual violence in school have on girls and young women; boys and young men; and teachers? 3. What can be done to reduce levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools? What measures are currently in place to address this issue? How adequate are they? What evidence is there of schemes proven to reduce levels of sexual harassment in schools in the UK or elsewhere? Can schools tackle this problem individually or is national action needed to reduce levels of harassment? What role can OFSTED play in monitoring and enforcing action on reducing sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools? What role can other stakeholders, including teacher training providers, teaching unions, governors and parents, play in tackling this problem? What action would be most effective in reducing levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools? What can schools do to support students to deal better with the online elements of this problem? Evidence from pre-consultation work shows that sexting, online bullying and the normalisation of pornography are all issues for students and they want more support in dealing with them. How adequate are schools' current responses to sexting and online sexual harassment? What can schools do better to support their students to deal with sexual harassment and sexual violence online? What impact is pornography having on levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools? What can be done by schools and other stakeholders to tackle the impact of pornography? Maria Miller, MP, chair of the Committee, said: “It’s clear from the young people we've heard from that sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools is having a profound impact on their day to day lives. “We need to address this issue now, and stop it from blighting the lives of another generation of young people – both male and female. "We're asking teachers, students, parents, youth organisations and anyone else with an interest in this subject to share their knowledge and experience with us. "We'll use this evidence to find the most effective measures to reduce levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools.” If you would like to submit evidence to the inquiry, please read Guidance on giving evidence to a Select Committee of the House of Commons. The Committee is accepting written submissions. The deadline is 10pm on 22 May 2016. You can send a written submission via the sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools inquiry page.  |
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