Gender equality in Wales in 2020 – the truth
What is the reality of being a woman in Wales right now? Political editor Ruth Mosalski reports ahead of tomorrow’s International Women’s Day
WOMEN’S equality has moved on an awful lot over the years.
The first women to vote did so in 1918, but it took until 1928 for women’s voting rights to match men’s.
Travelling through the decades, women began to take the top jobs in business, sport and politics.
They could make legal choices about their bodies and lifestyles. For example, contraception was made available on the NHS in 1961.
Legislation secured the right to abortion – for all but Northern Irish women, it took until 2019 for abortion to be decriminalised there. Protection against FGM, assault and coercive control has all followed since 1985.
In 2002, Parliament passed measures allowing lesbian, as well as gay and unmarried couples to adopt children. Shared parental leave was introduced into law in 2014.
The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 made it illegal to discriminate against women in work, education and training and brought in the Equal Pay Act.
In 2017, companies had to begin publishing gender pay gap data to show the gap between female and male colleagues.
But what do the cold, hard figures show what life is like in Wales for women now, in 2020?
Is life equal for women? These are facts...
■ The median hourly pay in Wales is £13.10 for men, but £11.20 for women*;
■ the gender pay gap is 14.5% in Wales;
■ more women are economically inactive – 27.5% compared to 19.4% of men;
■ 28% of women are looking after family – compared with 7.2% of men;
■ only 35% of Welsh MPs are women, 28% of local councillors, and 47% of AMs;
■ just 16% of the 50 fastest growing businesses in Wales are run by women;
■ 55% of Universal Credit claimants in Wales are women;
■ 35% of UK girls wearing school uniform have been sexually harassed in public;
■ 41.4% of part-time workers in Wales are women;
■ 90% of single parents in Wales are women.
These selected statistics suggest that life for women in Wales is not yet equal, and that’s why days like International Women’s Day matter – to highlight the brilliant things that have changed and the advances made, but also the gaps.
And they’re just the headline figures – the experiences of gay or black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women will be different again.
Those figures show there are more women in low-paid, part-time work, less women in public life and positions of power and a heightened risk of poverty, violence and abuse.
However, equality charity Chwarae Teg says that since last year’s equivalent report there have been some positive changes.
“Women’s employment rate has improved, the proportion of women in leadership positions in local councils has improved and the number of women MPs has also increased.
“However, the gender pay gap has increased, there has been almost no change in the proportion of women working part-time and a large proportion of women remain unable to access employment due to caring responsibilities.”
■ How women compare when it comes to jobs
Women and men have different type of jobs, which impacts on economic inequality between women and men.
For example, 27.5% of females are economically inactive compared to 19.4% of males
But why?
The biggest gap between men and women is when it comes to looking after family and home – that falls to 28% of women but 7.2% of men.
Men make up more of the student population (31.5% compared to 20.8%), more of the long-term sick (32.6% compared to 25.9% of women) and more of the retired (15.4% compared to 14.4% of women).
In the last year, the women’s employment rate has continued to improve and unemployment has decreased.
But there has been little change in self-employment rates and women remain significantly more likely to work part-time than men, which brings a marked pay penalty.
Data doesn’t on the whole however factor in the value of unpaid work, which is done largely by women.
■ Representation in public life
New female MPs were elected in the December 2019 General Election, including the first ever Conservative female MPs. The total of Welsh MPs that are women is now 35%, up from 28% a year ago.
There is an Assembly election due in May 2021, currently 47% of AMs are women and 57% of Mark Drakeford’s cabinet are women.
However, there is yet to be a black, Asian or minority ethnic woman elected as an AM.
Of Wales’ 22 councils, 23% of the leaders are women, 36% of council chief executives are women and 32% of cabinet members are women.
■ 64% of public appointments in 2018-19 were women;
■ 56% of chairs appointed in the same year were female.
Chwarae Teg say: “Women continue to be underrepresented in the workplace, which impacts on pay and progression and contributes to the gender pay gap.”
Sectors where there are more men employed than women are: agriculture; forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying; manufacturing; electricity gas, steam and air conditioning; water supply; construction; wholesale and retail; transportation; information and communication; professional and scientific; administrative and support services.
Accommodation and food service; financial and insurance; real estate; public administration; education; human health and social work and service activities are all areas where women outnumber men.
■ How safe is Wales for women?
“Women continue to face greater risk of poverty, social isolation and financial hardship due to the different positions men and women occupy in work and society, and due to the effects of welfare reform.
“There has been little change in the prevalence of harassment, abuse and violence against women.
“There are growing concerns about the volume and nature of abuse directed at women on social media, and whether in public places, the workplace or their own home, women continue to experience male violence.”
In August 2019, the Rape Monitoring Group said that number of rape charges in Wales and England have decreased, despite an increase in the amount of rapes reported.
Overall, the charge rate dropped from 6.8% to 4.2%, yet the number of reporting of rape has increased from 41,185 in 2016-17 to 54,045 in 201718. The data for police forces across Wales show no significant different trend in Wales.
UK wise, according to Plan UK: ■ 66% of girls have experienced sexual or physical contact in a public place;
■ 38% of girls have faced verbal harassment like catcalling, wolf-whistling and sexual comments at least once a month;
■ 35% of girls wearing school uniform have been sexually harassed in public;
■ 42% of BAME women reported unwanted sexual attention at least once a month.
■ Poverty and welfare reforms
“Poverty rates in Wales remain stubbornly high.
“Women’s risk of poverty is closely linked to their position in the labour market and within households.
“As second earners, or primary carers, many women have limited independent income, leaving them especially vulnerable to falling into poverty in the event of relationship breakdown.
“They are more likely to be working in part-time, low-paid roles and often have to make difficult decisions about whether to work or take on the main responsibility for caring for their children.”
■ 55% of Universal Credit claimants in Wales are women;
■ 38% of female Universal Credit claimants in Wales are in work, compared to 29% of men.
Chwarae Teg says analysis by the EHRC estimates that households in Wales will lose on average £480 a year from benefit, tax and minimum wage reforms announced since 2010 and that 80% of savings from welfare and tax changes are estimated to have come from women’s pockets.
Chwarae Teg chief executive Cerys Furlong said: “Chwarae Teg’s vision is for Wales to become a world leader for gender equality; a place where all women, regardless of background, are able to achieve their potential.
“This is a shared vision, with Welsh Government committing to becoming a feminist Government, and more and more businesses and organisations recognising the value of equality and diversity.
“But good intentions must be followed up with action.
“Wales has made good progress, but there is a lot further to go before we achieve a truly level playing field. That’s why, each year, Chwarae Teg looks at the indicators that measure progress in our State of the Nation report. It’s an opportunity to reflect, and assess how we, as a nation, are progressing towards this shared vision of equality. It’s an opportunity to be honest with ourselves, to look at where we’re performing well, where we need to improve, and what action we need to take.
“This year’s report paints a mixed picture. While we’ve seen some progress in terms of women’s representation, figures aren’t reflecting a significant change to women’s experiences in work, or women’s risk of harassment, abuse and poverty.
“While statistics such as those included in our report are integral to measuring our progress, they can’t tell us the full story. It’s therefore crucial that we also hear the voices and experiences of diverse women to inform decision-making.”