Key Changes Women's Rights Activists Want to See for Achieving Gender Equality

Strategic Insights -

As International Women's Day approaches, women's rights activists are calling for significant changes to ensure true gender equality is achieved. One of the crucial areas of focus is ending violence against women, where activists emphasize the importance of prevention over response. In the UK, a joint report from the Institute for Public Policy Research and Save the Children found that providing free childcare could cut nearly £2.8bn from government spending, making economic sense for the nation. Additionally, advocates are pushing for flexible working to be the default for all employees, as it has been shown to greatly benefit working women. Furthermore, encouraging female entrepreneurship and addressing the digital gender divide are also pressing concerns, with research suggesting that increasing female entrepreneurship in the UK could add £200 billion to the economy.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ending violence against women requires a shift from response to prevention, with a focus on stopping women and girls from becoming victims in the first place.
  • Free childcare should be provided, including free childcare after school, to allow parents to balance work and family responsibilities.
  • Flexible working should be the default for all employees, allowing individuals to better manage their caring and domestic labor.
  • Encouraging female entrepreneurship could add £200 billion to the UK economy, making it essential to support and lift up existing female entrepreneurs.
  • Addressing the digital gender divide is crucial, with the global ICT workforce being only 3% women, and governments needed to invest in STEM education to bridge this gap.
  • Providing free childcare could cut nearly £2.8bn from government spending in the UK, making economic sense for the nation.
  • Sahar Hashemi suggests buying products from women-built businesses to support and encourage female entrepreneurship.
  • Jemima Olchawski emphasizes the need for more flexible work options to be built into all jobs, rather than something to be negotiated later.
  • Sonal Chadha wants funding to be allocated to reduce the digital gender divide and boost girls' education in STEM subjects.

Statistics:

  • £2.8bn: the estimated savings for the UK government if free childcare is provided, as found in the joint report from the Institute for Public Policy Research and Save the Children.
  • £200 billion: the potential value added to the UK economy if the country were to have the same share of female entrepreneurs as similar countries, as stated in The Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship.
  • 3%: the percentage of global ICT graduates who are women, highlighting the digital gender divide.
  • £25 trillion: the estimated cost of lost lifetime productivity and earnings due to the lack of girls' education, according to widely documented evidence.

Sources:

  • Joint report from the Institute for Public Policy Research and Save the Children.
  • The Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship.
  • The Fawcett Society.
  • The End Violence Against Women Coalition.
  • Educating The Children founder and counsellor, Sonal Chadha.
  • Sahar Hashemi, founder of Buy Women Built.