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Covid-19 & Women: your weekly update

April 5-9 2021
Dear Subscribers, 

We hope you are safe and well. This is our weekly newsletter, bringing you the latest on gender, the economy and Covid-19. In 2021, we hope to continue bringing you relevant news on the gendered effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you like what we are bringing you, forward this email to a friend or two so they can sign up here

Before we get stuck in, we have some upcoming events and opportunities to share with you:

Local Government Finance: Can Equality Impact Assessments Make a Difference?
Friday 30th April 2021 13:00-14:00pm BST

Local government has lost 50% of funding over the last ten years - disproportionately impacting women who are more likely to work in local govt, use local services or care for someone relying on local services.
 
Join us to discuss a new briefing by Dr Olumide Adisa and Fiona Costello (University of Suffolk) on the importance of equality impact assessments in local government budgeting, in eliminating the gendered disparities of service cuts.

Chaired by Heather Wakefield (former Head of Local Government at Unison and Visiting Fellow at University of Greenwich), with Cllr Kalwinder Sandhu (Coventry City Council) and Emily Bell (UK Women’s Budget Group).

Bringing a Caring Economy to the 4 Nations
Wednesday 19th & Thursday 20th 2021 13:00-17:00 BST

Want to learn more about gender budgeting across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales? Join us for an upcoming conference with our partners: Scottish Women's Budget Group, Northern Ireland Women's Budget Group and Chwarae Teg.

We will explore what has worked well in four nations collaboration and ways to work together in bringing a caring, green economy to the UK. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in an open space session exploring how activism and research can create change at policy level.

Find out how you can get involved here!

Feminist Green New Deal – Call for Tenders – Housing
Hours:
Freelance, approx. 4 days work, Salary: £1000 Closing Date: Tuesday 20th April 2021 

We are currently seeking an experienced researcher to write a policy paper with a focus on rethinking housing supply and design in a zero-carbon economy that is inclusive, accessible and designed with the needs of women in mind. Click here to learn more

If you would like us to include any news, publications, research projects or events in this newsletter, please reply to this email! 

Keep reading for more news on the gendered and economic impacts of the pandemic in the UK and beyond. Scroll down to the bottom to catch upcoming events on gender, the economy and Covid-19. 

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay in touch! 

The Women's Budget Group on Covid-19


A missed opportunity to ‘Build Back Better’ Our response to the Spring Budget 2021
We published our full gendered analysis of the Spring Budget 2021. 

Only 38% of women in the UK believe the Government’s Covid 19 response has focused on issues that matter most to them
Our joint research with leading gender equality organisations shows that less than one third of young women and disabled women believe the government is acting in their best interests - read more here.

Disabled mothers three times more likely to have lost work during the pandemic
In collaboration with the Fawcett Society, Engender and Close the Gap (Scotland), Women Equality Network Wales, and Northern Ireland Women’s Budget Group (NIWBG), our research shows that the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to amplify disadvantages experienced by disabled parents and the Government must take decisive action to tackle this.

WBG responds to the National Audit Office report on Social Care Markets
Director Mary-Ann Stephenson comments on the stark underfunding of the social care sector as outlined in the report, advocating the need to invest in social care markets to minimise gender employment and pay gaps and help stimulate the economic recovery.

A Minimum Income Guarantee – income security for women?
Marilyn Howard, Honorary Research Associate and doctoral student at University of Bristol, guest writes on our blog outlining the case for Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) as an alternative to Universal Basic Income (UBI), in a bid to improve social security provisions.

Women’s Policy Group NI - COVID-19 Feminist Recovery Plan
Our work was cited in Women's Policy Group NI report, envisioning a feminist recovery from Covid-19, which includes investing in a care-led recovery and reforming the social care system to be truly inclusive, accessible and fair. 

Shaping the COVID decade: addressing the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19
Sara Reid and Anna Johnston, members of our Research and Policy team, are quoted in The British Academy's response to Government Office for Science on the gendered impact of the pandemic on issues ranging from employment to caring responsibilities.

Why data is key to advance equality
Emily Bell talks about our Local Data Project, funded by Trust for London, which aims to strengthen the capacity of local organisations to find the data they need to evidence inequality problems in their area, particularly those to do with women’s economic disadvantage.

Spring Webinar Series: Inequalities and Covid-19
In case you missed it, our last event 'Tax Justice, Gender Justice' in collaboration with Tax Justice UK is now available on our website, along with recordings of previous events - click here to find out more. 

Find everything the Women's Budget Group has done on Covid-19 here. This includes our reports on the impact that Covid-19 has on Social Security and Social Care, as well as joint letters, policy responses, and more. 

Find it all here
Covid-19: the latest 

Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in care
New policy tools released by UN Women and International Labour Organisations (ILO), supporting governments, women’s organizations, development and social partners in implementing gender-sensitive policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis and ensuring a job-rich and inclusive recovery.

Why vaccine passports are gendered
Clare Wenham writes in the BMJ Opinion, outlining the potential gendered impact of vaccine passports, in limiting women’s public opportunities and further entrenching gendered norms around care work. 

COVID emergency grants report: tackling gendered poverty during a pandemic
The Smallwood Trust outlines funding difficulties facing organisations across the women's sector and outlines a commitment to the Gender Lens Grant-Making Framework and co-creating solutions with organisations that support women facing multiple disadvantages, to help tackle funding challenges.

Special Issue on Feminist Economic Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Feminist Economics Journal (Taylor and Francis), have published a collection of articles examining the gendered impact of Covid-19 on economies of across the world.

People's Health Movement Scotland (Manifesto)
The Manifesto comprises a list of 32 demands, set around 7 key actions that have arisen from a partnership of individuals, organisations and community groups from across the country - read more here.

The public health case for a Green New Deal
Medact has published a report on the interconnected nature of climate, health and social injustice, outlining key policies to respond to the intersecting issues of health and climate justice going forward.
In other news...

Vacancies:


Trustee Treasurer, Lifting Limits
Hours: varied - estimated avg. 4 hours per month Salary: n/a Closing Date: Rolling


Communications Officer, Advice and Information, Maternity Action
Hours: 21 hours per week Salary: £30,000 per annum (pro rata) Closing Date: Sunday 18 April 2021 


Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns, Just Fair
Hours: 35 hours per week Salary: £35-37,000 per annum Closing Date: Monday 26 April 2021 (9am)

Lead Trainer and Assessor, Safe Lives
Hours: 37.5 hours per week Salary: £33,660 - £39, 971 Closing Date: Friday 7 May 2021

Realising Change: Care, Gender and COVID-19: Funded PhD Studentship with Glasgow Caledonian University (Glasgow School for Business and Society)

Hours: 3 years full time PhD Salary: Tuition Fees and a maintenance stipend of £20,009 per annum Closing Date: 10 May 2021

Senior London Organiser, The Equality Trust
Hours: 35 hours per week Salary: £31,858 per annum Closing Date: Wednesday 19 May 2021 (9am)
Upcoming Events

Sustaining the Response:  A New Normal?
Tuesday 13 April 2021 | 15:00 - 16:00pm (BST)
A year has passed since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Everyday lives have been upended as people have been forced to work from home through lockdowns. The long-term consequences of these abrupt shifts are already apparent in millions of job losses and the significant increase in poor mental health throughout the global population. Indeed, many experts believe COVID-19 will become endemic, suggesting an uncertain future to come - hosted by Chatham House, join to discuss these issues further.

Silvia Federici on COVID-19, capitalism, and social reproduction in crisis
Tuesday 20 April 2021 | 18:00 - 20:00pm (BST)
The Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities (CASEI) based in the Sociology Department at Lancaster University, hosts Silvia Federici to speak about how the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the policies of dispossession, impoverishment and deprivation that have underpinned the history of capitalism since its inception. Looking at the disastrous impact of the recent crises on social reproduction, Silvia Federici will discuss the efforts that women are making all over the world to de-privatise our everyday lives and create cooperative forms of living in our societies.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on working women
Tuesday 27 April 2021 | 13:00 - 14:30pm (BST)
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on work and working lives, and there is a recognised need to consider the issue of differential impacts across demographic groups. This event hosted by the Work and Equalities Institute will consider the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on working women looking at issues such as equality at work, flexible work, parental support, and pregnant workers.
 
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The Women’s Budget Group scrutinises government policy from a gender perspective. We are a network of leading feminist economists, researchers, policy experts and campaigners committed to achieving a more gender equal future. We have worked towards this since 1989.



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