Publication - Research and analysis
Tackling child poverty priority families overview
An overview of evidence on the six priority family types identified as being at higher risk of child poverty. Slide deck can be found in the supporting documents.
Intersectionality - child poverty and women's poverty
Child poverty and women’s poverty are intrinsically linked.
Structural barriers around income from employment
Examples of these barriers include:
- women earn less than men, are more likely to be in insecure work, and in in-work poverty
- gendered assumptions (presumption of women as main carer and household manager) and structural barriers (gender pay gap) mean that women are likely reduce earnings (e.g. shifting to part time, stopping work) when becoming mothers
- shared parental leave taken by a minority of fathers - cultural gender norms take time to shift
- intersecting characteristics can make it harder to enter, or remain in, employment (i.e. lone parent families; victims/survivors of domestic abuse)
Structural barriers around cost of living
Examples of these barriers include:
- women are less likely to own property than men, and lone parents and working aged women with no children are the least likely groups to own a property
- men are more likely to be the perpetrators of domestic abuse, making women more likely to be homeless as a result
- pay inequalities (women earning less than men) reduces ability to save and make women less financially resilient
Structural barriers around increasing income from social security and benefits in-kind
Examples of these barriers include:
- women more likely to be negatively impacted by cuts to social security
- gendered impacts of sanctions, linked to the significant role women have in caring for children
- joint claims for benefits can reduce financial independence for women
- women with intersecting protected characteristics are more likely to experience multiple forms of stigma and discrimination – which can result in fear and shame
What works
Progressing towards gender equality across all aspects of society. Policies should focus on:
- supportive family policies to address gender imbalances, i.e. flexible and affordable childcare, shared parental leave
- taking an intersectional gender lens to policy development to tackle the multidimensionality of experience
- gendered outcomes as part of policy monitoring and evaluation – to centre efforts on reducing gender inequalities