Tackling child poverty - progress report 2024-2025: annex b - focus report on gender and poverty

Footnotes

The data collected for this social research publication is available via direct hyperlinks or quotes below.

1 Scottish Government (2025) – Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24

2 Scottish Government - Financial information from SHS. The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is an annual survey of the general population of Scotland, carried out since 1999. It aims to collect reliable and up-to-date information on a range of topics, through a random sample of people in private residences. It is a voluntary and interviewer-led survey. In 2023, as is typical, the SHS was carried out as a face-to-face interview, primarily administered in people’s homes.

3 Scottish Government (2025) - Scotland's Carers Update Release March 2025

4 Scottish Government (2023) - Time Use in Scotland 2023 – see Chapter 2 (Activity type) - Figure 1, Chapter 7 (variations in outcome) - Figure 4, and Chapter 10 (Analysis by activity time with/without children).

5 Scottish Government (2023) - see Section 5 on Work Domain at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

6 Scottish Government (2018) - Regional employment patterns in Scotland: statistics from the Annual Population Survey 2018

7 Nuffield Foundation (2022) - Women in multiple low-paid employment: pathways between work, care and health

8 Scottish Government (2024) – Social Capital and community wellbeing in Scotland

9 Scottish Government (2023) - Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023 – Section 9 on Power Domain. To note that the main source for this indicator is based on Engender’s Sex and Power in Scotland 2023 research paper. The paper identifies and sets out the limitations of the data that it includes: “The list of organisations and positions identified in this report is not comprehensive, but is indicative of the current gendered balance of power and decision-making in Scotland. As ever, Scottish-level data is sometimes missing or difficult to find, and not all occupational categories included can be compared like-for-like in terms of organisational scale. The influence and reach of cultural production organisations, for instance, is sizeable and cannot be easily measured. Sample sizes are often small, but still indicate patterns within respective fields. We reference sources and the methodology used to define occupational categories in relevant sections throughout the report.”

10 Scottish Government (2023) - See Knowledge domain at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

11 Scottish Government (2025) – Summary statistics for attainment and initial leaver destinations no. 7: 2025 edition

12 National Records of Scotland (2024) – Scotland’s Census 2022 - Education, labour market and travel to work

13 Scottish Government (2023) - See section 6 ‘money domain’ and section 8.1, ‘ratio of pay to attainment’ at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

14 Scottish Government (2019) - Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2019: intra-household distribution of resources

15 Scottish Government (2025) - Tackling child poverty priority families overview

16 Femicide Census (2025) – Femicide Census – Profiles of women killed by men

17 Hulley, J., Wager, K., Gomersall, T., Bailey, L., Kirkman, G., Gibbs, G., & Jones, A. D. (2023) – Continuous Traumatic Stress: Examining the Experiences and Support Needs of Women After Separation From an Abusive Partner. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(9-10), pp. 6275-6297

18 Fahmy, E., Williamson, E. & Pantazis, C. (2016) - Evidence and policy review: Domestic violence and poverty

19 Scottish Government (2024) - Tackling child poverty - progress report 2023-2024: annex B - focus report on other marginalised groups at risk of poverty

20 Hakovirta, M., Skinner, C. Hiilamo, H. & Jokela, M. (2020) – Child Poverty, Child Maintenance and Interactions with Social Assistance Benefits Among Lone Parent Families: a Comparative Analysis. Journal of Social Policy, 49(1), pp. 19-39.

21 Fife Gingerbread (2024) – #FixtheCMS

22 Fife Gingerbread, Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland & One Parent Families Scotland (2024) – Transforming Child Maintenance reports

23 McHardy, F. (2024). ‘Test and Learn: Understanding the approach to Child maintenance in Fife - Evaluation Report’. The Poverty Alliance. Available: Transforming Child Maintenance — Fife Gingerbread

24 Scottish Government (2022) – Scotland’s Labour Market: People, Places and Regions – Protected Characteristics from the Annual Population Survey 2021

25 Scottish Government (2023) – Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

26 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2023) – Poverty in Scotland 2023

27 Pregnant then Screwed (2025) – It’s an unhappy mother’s day as new data reveals that mums earn 43% less per week than dads

28 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2024) – Poverty in Scotland

29 Rose, J., Li, Y. & Ville, L. (2023) – The ethnicity motherhood pay penalty

30 Close the Gap (2019) – Still Not Visible – Research on Black and minority ethnic women’s experiences of employment in Scotland

31 Scottish Government (2024) – Domestic abuse: Statistics recorded by the police in Scotland, 2023-24

32 Scottish Government (2023) – See section 5.1 ‘participation’ at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

33 Andrew, A., Bandiera, O., Costa Dias, M. & Landais, C. (2024) – Women and men at work. Oxford Open Economics, 3(1), pp. 294-322

34 Joseph Rowntree Foundation(2023) – The Caring Penalty

35 The Work Foundation (2022) – The Gender Gap – Insecure work in the UK

36 Close the Gap (2024) – Close the Gap briefing for Scottish Government debate: Programme for Government – Eradicating Child Poverty

37 The motherhood penalty is a phrase used in recent years to summarise the economic disadvantages women face when becoming pregnant. These economic disadvantages relate to reduced earnings, reduced security in the workplace, limited career progression opportunities or chances for promotions with increased pay. As such, the terms aims to encompass in one terms how becoming a mother can have long lasting negative economic impacts for many women.

38 UK Government (accessed May 2025) - Shared Parental Leave and Pay: What you'll get

39 Working Families & Pinsent Masons (2023) – Working Families Index 2023 – Spotlight on lower-income families

40 UK Government: Department for Business & Trade (2023) – Shared parental leave evaluation report

41 Birkett, H. & Forbes, S (2019) – Where’s dad? Exploring the low take-up of inclusive parenting policies in the UK. Policy Studies, 40(2), pp. 205-224

42 Scottish Women’s Convention (2024) – What should childcare in Scotland look like?

43 Maternity Action (2020) – Insecure Labour. The realities of insecure work for pregnant women and new mothers

44 Scottish Government (2022) – Tackling child poverty delivery plan: fourth year progress report 2021-2022 - focus report on households with babies under one

45 UK Government (2021) – The Best Start For Life – A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days

46 Scottish Government (2022) – Tackling child poverty delivery plan: fourth year progress report 2021-2022 - focus report on households with mothers aged 25 or under

47 UK Government (accessed May 2025) – Section 7 - Universal Credit: further information for families

48 Richards-Gray, L. (2022) – Filling in the middle: the ‘workless’ frame in action in UK welfare reform. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 6(1), pp. 40-57

49 Carers UK (2024) – State of Caring 2024: The impact of caring on finances.

50 Carers Scotland (2024) – Unlocking the door. How to make paid employment a meaningful choice for unpaid carers in Scotland.

51 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2021) – Freeing low-income single parents from in-work poverty’s grip

52 One Parent Families Scotland & Close the Gap (2023) – A childcare system for all: A vision that puts gender equality at the centre of Scotland’s childcare strategy

53 Barglowski, K. & Pustulka, P. (2018) – Tightening Early Childcare Choices – Gender and Social Class Inequalities among Polish Mothers in Germany and the UK. Comparative Migration Studies, 36(6)

54 Engender (2023) – Submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s Inquiry into ‘Addressing child poverty through parental employment’

55 Scottish Government (2017) – Growing up in Scotland: a study following the lives of Scotland's children (Sweep 1 findings)

56 Age Scotland (2020) – Grandparent’s invaluable contributions to childcare

57 Scottish Government (2019) – Out of school care parent survey report

58 YouGov Survey (2010) – Grandparents Plus Survey results

59 Birchall, J. & Holt, A. (2022) – Who cares? The grandmother kinship carers shouldering the burden within a gendered care economy. Journal of Women & Ageing, 35(5), pp. 465-475

60 Tarrant, A. (2017) – Researching Men’s Care Responsibilities in Low-Income Families Using Qualitative Secondary Analysis. Sage Research Methods Cases Part 2. SAGE Publications Ltd

61 National Centre for Social Research (2023) – British Social Attitudes – Gender roles

62 Scottish Government (2024) – Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels 2023-24

63 Education Scotland (2020) – STEM: improving gender balance, equity and equality

64 Scottish Government (2018) – STEM and language choices in school: Young People in Scotland Survey 2017

65 Scottish Government (2023) – See section 8.1 ‘Attainment’ at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

66 Scottish Government (2023) – See section 9.1 ‘Economic subdomain’ at Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023

67 Mwaura, S., Sahasranamam, S., Tapinos, E., Hart, M., Prashar, N. & Ri, A. (2024) – Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Scotland 2023-24 report

68 Scottish Government (2023) – Pathways: A new approach for women in entrepreneurship (Independent review authored by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan).

69 Scottish Government (2025) – Gender export gap in Scotland: research

70 Florisson, R. & Gable, O. (2022) – The Gender Gap: Insecure work in the UK. The Work Foundation at Lancaster University.

71 Scottish Government (2023) – Equally Safe 2023 – preventing and eradicating violence against women and first: strategy

72 Women’s Aid (2019) – The Domestic Abuse Report 2019. The economics of abuse

73 Scottish Government (2021) – Understanding the mental health needs of women and girls experiencing gender-based violence

74 Women’s Aid (2021) – Mental health and domestic abuse: A review of the literature

75 Scottish Women’s Aid (2022) – SWA Briefing on the cost of living crisis and the impact on women experiencing domestic abuse

76 The Scottish Women’s Convention (2023) – Response to the Scottish Parliament’s consultation on: Disabled Employment Gap Inquiry

77 Close the Gap (2024) – Emerging findings from Close the Gap research on disabled women and work

78 National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (2024) – First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls 2024 report

79 Scottish Government (2024) – Public attitudes to cost of living and other topics: tracker – data tables

80 Poverty Alliance (2024) – Women’s experiences of poverty in Scotland

81 Scottish Women’s Budget Group (2023) – Women’s Survey 2023: Experiences of rising costs across Scotland

82 Transport Scotland (2024) - National Transport Strategy Monitoring and Evaluation Report 2024

83 Transport Scotland (2020) – National Transport Strategy

84 Transport Scotland (2024) – Reported road casualties Scotland 2023 | Transport Scotland

85 Scottish Government (2021) –Wealth in Scotland 2006-2020

86 Scottish Government (2022) – Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill: equalities impact assessment

87 Scottish Government (2024) – Homelessness in Scotland: 2023-24

88 Engender (2024) – Gender and the Housing Emergency

89 Engender (2020) – Gender, housing and homelessness: A literature review

90 Scottish Government (2025) – Food insecurity in Scotland as measured by Family Resources Survey

91 Scottish Government (2025) – Food insecurity in Scotland as measured by the Scottish Health Survey

92 Power, M., Small, N., Doherty, B. & Pickett, K.E. (2018) – Hidden hunger? Experiences of food insecurity amongst Pakistani and white British women. British Food Journal, 120(11), pp. 2716-2732.

93 MacLeod, M., Curl, A., & Kearns, A. (2018) – Understanding the Prevalence and Drivers of Food Bank use: Evidence from Deprived Communities in Glasgow. Social Policy and Society, 18(1), pp.67-86.

94 The Scottish Women’s Convention (2024) – The Impact of Poverty on Women

95 Institute for Fiscal Studies (2021) – The cost of living crisis – who is hit by recent price increases?

96 National Centre for Social Research (2023) – Society Watch 2023: The Price We Pay – the social impact of the cost of living crisis

97 Scottish Government (2024) – Best Start, Bright Futures - tackling child poverty: progress report 2023 to 2024 - gov.scot

98 Scottish Government (2024) – See Indicator 18, Indicator 19 and Indicator 20 at Tackling child poverty - progress report 2023-2024: annex A - measurement framework

99 Poverty Alliance & Scottish Women’s Budget Group (2022) – I don’t live, I survive. Women’s experience of the cost of living crisis

100 Money Advice Scotland (2024) – Women and Debt: Addressing Gender Disparities in Debt in Scotland. StepChange (2023) – Bearing the burden: Unravelling women’s debt dilemma.

101 Scottish Government (2024) – A review of emerging evidence on the effects of the cost of living crisis on debt in Scotland

102 Adami, R. (2022) - Financial Exclusion in the UK: Evidence on Ethnicity. Social Policy and Society, 23(3), pp.529-547.

103 Financial Conduct Authority (2023) – Financial Lives 2022: Key findings from the FCA’s Financial Lives May 2022 survey

104 Public (sector) debts are debts and arrears to public bodies such as: council tax and rent arrears; school meal debt; social fund loans; child maintenance loans; Universal Credit (UC) advances; Department of Wealth and Pensions (DWP) loans; benefit sanctions; court fines; and overpaid tax credits.

105 Aberlour, Scottish Women’s Aid & Financially Included (2024) – “We can’t expect women to recover from trauma with the weight of coerced debt on their shoulders”: briefing paper

106 Scottish Government (2025) – See Figure 5 at Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2023

107 Scottish Government (2020) – Coronavirus (COVID-19): impact on equality (research)

108 Scottish Government (2025) – Understanding the Cost of Living Crisis in Scotland

109 Women’s Budget Group (2021) – Gender differences in access to Coronavirus Government support

110 Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Poverty (2023) – An inquiry into poverty-related stigma in Scotland

111 Scottish Government (2021) – Tackling child poverty - third year progress report : annex B - child poverty in families with a disabled adult or child

112 Evans, N. (2022) – Coping with Gendered Welfare Stigma: Exploring Everyday Accounts of Stigma and Resistance Strategies among Mothers Who Claim Social Security Benefits

113 Scottish Government (2021) – Social Security Experience Panels: benefit take-up report

114 Scottish Government (2024) – Social Security Scotland client diversity and equalities analysis to March 2023

115 Howard, M. & Bennett, F. (2020) – Payment of Universal Credit for couples in the UK: Challenges for reform from a gender perspective.

116 Bennett, F, (2021) How government sees couples on Universal Credit: a critical gender perspective.

117 Dwyer, P.J. (2018) – Punitive and ineffective: benefit sanctions within social security - White Rose Research Online. Journal of Social Security Law, 54(2), pp.142-157.

118 Anderson, K. (2023) – Welfare that works for women? Mothers' experiences of the conditionality within universal credit. Bristol: Policy Press

119 Scottish Government (2024) – Scottish Child Payment and the labour market

120 Almås, I., Ringdal, C. & Hoem Sjursen, I. (2021) – Understanding inequality within households. In Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer: Cham

121 UK Government (2017) – The impact of cash transfers on women and girls

122 Scottish Government (2015) – Scotland's Carers

123 Women’s Budget Group (2024) – Who bears the brunt? Intersectional analysis of social security cuts since 2010

124 Women’s Budget Group (2017) – The impact of austerity on Black and Minority Ethnic women in the UK

125 OECD (2023) – Toolkit for Mainstreaming and Implementing Gender Equality 2023

126 The Five Family Payments are administered by Social Security Scotland to provide support to families in caring for their child/children. This includes: Scottish Child Payment (payments every four weeks for eligible families); Best Start Grant (three one-off payments for eligible families spread across the child’s early years); and Best Start Foods (payments every four weeks for eligible families with children under the age of three). Further information available at Social Security Scotland - Five family payments resources

127 UK Government (2012) – Public sector equality duty

128 National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (2024) – First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls: Third Focus of Scrutiny

129 Scottish Government (2025) – Equality outcomes 2025-2029

130 McPhail, B. (2003) – A Feminist Policy Analysis Framework. The Social Policy Journal, 2(2-3), pp.39-61.

131 Kanenberg, H., Leal, R. & Erich, S.A. (2020) – Revising McPhail’s Feminist Policy Analysis Framework: Updates for Use in Contemporary Social Policy Research. Advances in Social Work, 19(1), pp.1-22