FOR BETTER

OR FOR WORSE?
TACKLING WOMENS AND MENS POVERTY IN REGENERATION

Conference Report
24 MAY 2007, GLASGOW
 WHY ARE WOMEN PAYING A
HEAVIER PRICE FOR POVERTY?
Throughout their lifetimes, women all over the
We cant stop until world are at much greater risk of being
trapped in poverty than men. And even in the
weve brought this UK, women are suffering from this injustice.

injustice to an end Women also have less power to change

Conference participant
this situation.

The needs and roles of women and men are

different and this must be recognised and
understood by society in order for poverty
and inequality to be overcome.

On 24 May 2007, Oxfam brought together its

partners from the community, voluntary and
statutory sectors, with speakers and panellists
from key decision-making bodies in Scotland
and the UK.

The conference explored how taking account

of gender can improve regeneration
programmes, and make a difference to the
lives of people who are living in poverty.
 Poverty and gender inequality
go hand in hand
declared Baroness Margaret Prosser, Vice Chair of the Commission for Equalities
and Human Rights (CEHR), and Chair of the Women and Work Commission.
Awareness of gender is not evident in
current regeneration policy, she
continued. Women are more likely to
lose out. For example, when returning to
work after maternity leave, they can
often see their pay and progression
rates drop within six months if they
return to their previous job, and
immediately if they return to a new job.
Baroness Prosser advocated that
opportunities for women to earn a
higher wage are critical if families are to
escape from poverty. Regeneration, anti-
poverty and child poverty strategies
must recognise this and include plans
to increase opportunities for quality
part-time and flexible work that pays
well, and provides stability, progression
and fair benefits.
Another guest speaker, author and
journalist Beatrix Campbell, stated
women will not get equality until they
are better-off. The government has to
recognise that the issue is about money
as well its economic as well as social.
Do we want male wo rkers to be
visitors to their children ?
Beatrix Campbell posed a serious challenge to the way that we organise work
patterns. She asserted that current laws around working time are based on a
male breadwinner wo rking long hours, missing out on time with children and
We often blame women for making family, with an unpaid female slave at home.
poor choices for instance, by
becoming carers and mothers, Beatrix Any family that doesnt fit into this Its especially difficult if not impossible
Campbell continued. By blaming women breadwinner-plus-homemaker model to work 40 hours per week, as well
for making such choices, society is because of low-status work, as having to look after children. Often,
failing to acknowledge the historical unemployment, sickness, or separation families will hire others such as
discrimination that has led to the lack of is at a huge disadvantage. As are cleaners or carers to help them.
choice that women still have today. This families where both partners need Yet, in many cases, these jobs are
culture of blame extends to young men to work. For working women, the regarded as low-status and,
too, who are often demonised by compromise is often even greater; accordingly, are low-paid. Or, when
politicians and society for adopting an they have a higher burden of unpaid other family members are asked to help
aggressive form of masculinity. care, and their jobs have to out, they may receive no pay at all.
Drawing on her experience of working accommodate this.
with men in prisons, she stated that in
reality young men have little choice and
few positive role models who can offer
an alternative.
Recognition of how gender interlinks
with other areas of equality, such as
race, disability and age, is also vital. For
instance, reports show that black and
Asian women experience more
discrimination in the workplace than
white women, and disabled women do
not experience the built environment in
the same way as disabled men.
Photo: Karen Robinson/Oxfam
Lassies like weans and doing stuff
about babies manu facturing is a
b oy s thing.
... according to young people from the What's With Work programme in South
Lanarkshire, who were clear about what they saw for their futures: care for the girls,
and manual trades for the boys.
This perception is threatening young
womens job prospects and severely
limiting their potential levels of pay. They
cant look forward to a brighter future if
this belief is perpetuated by a system
that only offers them such jobs.
The fight against gender inequality
and stereotyping needs to start in the
classroom. Young people need to be
Gender stereotyping affects the
life chances of young people
Simon Cameron, Whats With Work Programme Coordinator,
South Lanarkshire Council
Photo: Chris Worrall/Oxfam
shown that they can pursue the
careers that are right for them, Jean Smith stands outside what used to be the trade entrance to the Daks Simpson factory, Larkhall, where
she used to work
regardless of their gender.
For this to happen, we need to keep
challenging the stereotyped attitudes of Jean Smith lives with her partner and
teachers, careers staff, employers, and two children in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire,
political leaders as well as young in Scotland.
people themselves. Jean worked for fifteen years as a machinist
at the Daks Simpson textiles factory in
Larkhall. The factory closed in 2002, after
laying off hundreds of workers for several
years beforehand. It was the biggest employer
in Larkhall, and the majority of its workforce
was female.
When Jean had her first child she wanted to
continue working at Daks, and approached the
company about job-sharing. She felt this
would have been a good way to stay in work
and keep the long-service benefits shed built
up over the years. But, despite applying
several times, she was told that Daks wouldnt
allow it.
So that was that. I left. That was over
sixteen years ago.
Since then, Jean has re-trained as a nursery
nurse. She qualified two years ago, but
despite applying for almost 30 different jobs,
she has yet to be given an interview.
Thats shocking. I dont understand it.
Whats the point in putting you through
all that training and everything when
theres nothing at the end?
Research shows that UK labour markets are
1
highly gendered. Women are often
concentrated in low status, insecure jobs in
low-paid sectors such as catering, retail,
clerical, and care work. The negative
effects of this segregation are even worse
when the types of training offered to
women dont reflect the actual jobs
available in an area.
Flexible, secure working is the key to
enabling women and men to balance paid
work and caring responsibilities, but thats
still far from a reality for many.
1
Gender and Employment in Local Labour Markets
Research Programme, Final Report October 2006.
Professor Sue Yeandle, Centre for Social Inclusion,
Sheffield Hallam University
 Confidence-building is vital
to enable women to see the power
within themselves to make a
difference in their own lives and
in their community
according to Oxfam partner, Tea in the Pot womens centre, from Glasgow.
Their experience shows that local
people need to come together and use
their joint power to push for change.
One of Tea in the Pots major concerns
is that regeneration jobs are rarely made
available to local people. They feel this
needs to be challenged, so that women
and men have appropriate support to
take these opportunities.
Central to getting this right is having
a clear understanding of the different
needs and concerns of local women
and men, and of the barriers they face.
Oxfam has worked with Thrive Thornaby,
Photo: Chris Worrall/Oxfam
All of us who are concerned about
to hold responsible bodies to account.
in Thornaby on Tees, to look at how
people live and what their assets are;
from income and property to social
networks and friends. It became clear
that gender played a part in the different
ways that women and men get by in
their daily lives. This helps to illustrate
the different ways that women and men
get by in their daily lives.
For example, while men had low
confidence in the value of training
schemes, women were more affected
by debt and had less access to assets
such as cars or property.
We need effective leadership
f rom all sectors, but particularly
f rom political leaders
said Yvonne Strachan, Head of Equalities at the Scottish Executive.
a living wage
gender inequality and poverty need
investment in training and
development that doesnt fall below
We must make sure that they meet their
a set minimum standard
duties under the new gender equality
law and acknowledge how our an adequate work-life balance
economy and society lose out from not
a percentage of jobs reserved
tackling gender inequality effectively,
for local people who are
she added.
long-term unemployed.
Mike Brider, Scottish Regional
He also wants employers to be required
Secretary of the Transport and General
to undertake pay audits, to check that
Workers Union, called for all jobs
women and men have equal salaries.
created through regeneration to ensure:
These measures would be welcomed
by reputable employers, and would
go a long way to help to reduce poverty
in the UK.
The conference agreed that we also need to:
challenge the routine expectation that women undertake the vast bulk of
caring within families and the lack of value and respect attached to this
challenge the lower status attributed to womens work which keeps women
trapped in low-paid jobs, with little prospect of progression
campaign to close the gender pay gap
look at poverty within the household as this often reveals that women
experience less power and greater poverty
push for flexible working to be a reality for women and men

Photo: Chris Worrall/Oxfam
Yvonne Smith window shopping for cars in Blantyre
Yvonne Smith lives in Blantyre, South
Lanarkshire. She is the main carer for
her dad.
Local transport has a major impact on
Yvonnes life. Her caring responsibilities mean
that she needs to make frequent, short trips
around the area, which is not well-served by
the single bus route that runs through
Blantyre to Hamilton and Glasgow.
Its alright if youre wanting to go to
Glasgow, Yvonne says, but I feel as if I
waste a lot of time waiting.
Yvonne doesnt qualify for a concessionary
bus pass as a carer, and as her dad is not
well enough to use the bus, she ends up
spending a large amount of money on taxis
simply to do things like shopping and visiting
the doctor.
Yvonne is working towards getting her driving
licence, and hopes to get a car at some point.
She has failed her practical test five times,
and so far has spent 842.50 on driving
lessons and fees to sit her test.
I get about 80 a week. Thats carers Key public bodies in Scotland, like the
allowance and income support. Getting
a car is a necessity, it isnt just a luxury,
but its so much money to put into it.
Studies of transport use in the UK have
consistently shown that womens travel is
more likely to be linked to caring and family
responsibilities, which often entails
irregular journeys that do not conform to the
commuter-centered structure of most public
transport systems.
Women are also more reliant overall on
public transport and walking, generally
travel shorter distances, and are less likely
to have access to a private car than men.1
These differences in need are not catered
for in planning and transport systems that
heavily favour car users and those working
a rigid nine-to-five week.
1
Towards Gender Sensitive Transport Services,
Gender and Engagement in Manchester (GEM)
Project, 2007
AND WHAT NEEDS TO
HAPPEN IN SCOTLAND?
NATIONALLY
Offering people limited, often
stereotyped opportunities does not
maximise the potential of either women
or men. Oxfam calls on the new
Government for Scotland to ensure that
gender stereotypes and discrimination
do not undermine the development of a
skilled workforce, or the building of a
robust economy.
consciously and robustly when
Scottish Executive, Communities
Scotland, Audit Scotland and the
Convention of Scottish Local
Authorities have specific roles and
responsibilities to make sure that
regeneration strategies and spending
ensure both women and men living in
areas of deprivation have access to
services and resources.
Job Centre Plus and Scottish
Enterprise have a key responsibility to
ensure that programmes and initiatives
targeted at increasing the job prospects
of people living in deprived
communities take into account the
different lives and experiences of
women and men. In particular, they have
a role to play in challenging
stereotyping in training and
employment, opening up opportunities
for both women and men.
Oxfam calls on these organisations to
adopt an overt commitment to gender
equality in regeneration and
employability strategies.
LOCALLY
Around the world, women are the shock
absorbers of poverty. And they are often
the worst affected by poverty within their
families and communities. This is
frequently overlooked or ignored and
not reflected in local decision-
making structures.
Community Planning Partners need to
address gender inequality more
developing their local outcome
agreements targeted at deprived areas.
They also need to consider this when
planning, allocating and monitoring
resources, such as the Community
Regeneration Fund, and when
developing and implementing
community engagement strategies.
Community planning structures and
engagement strategies need to reflect
and represent the often diverse roles of
women and men in deprived
communities, to maximise the expertise
and experience of both.
Decision-makers should recognise the
contribution of women to improving their
communities. In the developing world,
the importance of tackling womens
poverty more widely is well-recognised.
In rich countries we need to see this too.
Oxfam works to overcome poverty all over the world.
Millions of people in the UK don't have enough money to
live on. Oxfam believes that in a rich country this is
completely unacceptable. Thats why we work in the UK.

Oxfam works to overcome poverty in the UK in three

ways. We develop projects with people living in poverty
to improve their lives and show how things can change.
We raise public awareness of poverty to create pressure
for change. And we work with policy-makers to tackle the
causes of poverty.

Oxfams work on gender in regeneration includes

projects in Scotland, Wales, and England. We work with
policy-makers and service providers to make sure they
are aware of the different needs of women and men,
and to make sure that regeneration policies and services
take these needs into account. We also support
community groups to develop peoples skills and their
confidence to talk to decision-makers about the
problems they face, and to look at solutions to poverty
that meet their needs.

For more information about Oxfams gender and

regeneration projects, contact:

Zoe Smith
ReGender Manager
Tel: 0161 860 4021
Email: zsmith@oxfam.org.uk

UK Poverty
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Chorlton
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