Assembly has taken the lead, now it has to address wider issues affecting women

19th May 2011

As the new Labour Assembly Government settles down to business, Chwarae Teg Chief Executive Katy Chamberlain argues it needs to address the challenges facing women in Wales.

The appointment of Labour's Rosemary Butler as the Assembly's first female presiding officer is significant as it places a woman in one of the most high profile positions in the country at a time when post election Labour will be closely followed to see how well it delivers on its manifesto pledges.

Chwarae Teg, the agency for the promotion of the economic development of women in Wales, has been encouraged by pledges made by the new Labour government and believes this is a real opportunity to make significant progress towards a reduction in the gender pay gap. A new report into Economic Inequality in Wales published by the EHRC and Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods reports the gap between men's and women's hourly earnings in Wales currently running at 19%.

In its manifesto, the new government identifies some of the challenges facing women in the economy today, along with a commitment to address some of these. Such a commitment is important as women represent 51% of the population and 47% of the workforce, and the issues affecting them cannot be overlooked. Many women are working part-time and below their potential for a whole range of social and economic reasons, and on a fiscal level alone this will be costing the Welsh economy millions of pounds every year.

Labour's pledges include research into what support women and families need along with a promise to extend free childcare provision through the Flying Start programme. While this is positive, there are still some areas where Chwarae Teg would welcome further attention, including examining ways to ensure that the economic development of women can be included within the digital agenda. Hopefully the new Labour Government will take further steps around flexible and remote working in both the public and private sector, along with proactively promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers to women.

One of the key challenges the party will face is overcoming the barriers that are currently preventing women from fully participating in the Welsh economy. For example there are currently 6 million carers in the UK and this number is expected to increase to 9 million over the next 30 years. An ageing population will place extra pressure on families as they struggle to care for children and older relatives. Flexible and remote working offer solutions for families with caring responsibilities and most businesses find that offering this type of benefit increases productivity and staff loyalty whilst reducing absence.

Developments in information and communication technologies mean that it is possible for individuals to work from wherever they choose whilst still being fully contactable by telephone or email. The Government's plans to roll-out next generation broadband will make this even more achievable. More companies are beginning to benefit from technology that facilitates remote or home working. Not only can remote working eliminate disruption in the instance of adverse weather conditions, but it also provides a solution to rising fuel costs as staff are able to avoid the cost of the daily commute.

Cutting carbon emissions in this way can also get the government well on their way to reaching their target of a 3% carbon saving. By promoting the benefits of flexible and remote working to businesses the government can help Wales employ modern employment practices that will match our modern economy. Importantly this will not only support the digital inclusion agenda and the green agenda, it will also significantly increase the ability of women to enter employment.

The new Government has a range of proposals to promote business and enterprise and at Chwarae Teg we believe there is significant potential for economic growth in women's enterprise.

However women start up businesses at just half the rate of men so evidently there is an untapped opportunity here, particularly when you look at the United States where there are 20% more businesses per head than the UK. Significantly at 8.8%, the rate of Total Entrepreneurship Activity for women in the US is more than double that of the UK (3.6%). This difference is mostly down to a higher rate of female business start-ups in America as a result of continued targeted support programmes for women. Evidence from our own Women's Enterprise Wales project (2001-2006) also shows that targeted support for women in Wales can translate to more businesses and more jobs.

Entrepreneurship presents many opportunities for women, particularly those with caring responsibilities. Self-employment allows women to work flexibly and many appreciate the work-life balance benefits that working for oneself can allow. For women to reach their potential in business, mentoring and support must be tailored to suit their specific needs.

Another priority for a modern Welsh economy is in the development of skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Women are under-represented in these sectors and hopefully the Government will take measures to encourage women and girls to follow STEM careers.

Wales will benefit from the Swansea University led Technocamp project, which aims to encourage the development of skills in the digital technologies which underpin the STEM subjects. Further projects are needed to encourage more girls to follow these routes.

Girls often out-perform boys in STEM subjects at school, and even though they are in the minority studying these subjects at A-level, they achieve more A grades in 7 out of 10 STEM subjects.

More females are signing up to STEM subjects at undergraduate level but despite this progress, evidence shows that qualifications do not necessarily lead to careers.

Research from the UKRC shows that 70% of women with STEM qualifications are working in other areas of the economy whilst a further 16% are not working at all.

The Government needs to encourage employers to develop employment practices that support women in these sectors so that they can have long and fulfilling careers in STEM.

These subjects are necessary for many of the Welsh priority sectors and helping women to use their qualifications in these sectors will make a big step towards filling the skills gap, at the same time making inroads into the gender pay gap.

Valuable new research into how best to support women in Wales will go a long way towards increasing awareness and improving understanding of the barriers that women face in the Welsh economy.

Once these barriers are fully understood, they can be addressed, and as women's position in the economy improves, so will economic activity rates, the availability of skills for business and family and child poverty will come another step closer to being eliminated.

Back to News list - News Archive