Women, austerity and the spending review | Letters
Women's organisations welcomed the chancellor's promise this year that "austerity is coming to an end". The 2019 spending review is a significant test of what that promise will mean in real terms, particularly for women, who have borne the brunt of austerity policies since 2010. But an end to austerity must mean more than simply an end to budget cuts. After nearly a decade of chronic underfunding, our public services are in crisis. For "just about managing" families, continuing as they are for the next few years certainly won't feel much like the end of austerity.
Women - particularly the poorest women, BAME women and disabled women - suffered most from cuts to public services and social security because they are generally poorer, more likely to use public services, more likely to work in the public sector and more likely to increase unpaid work when services are cut. Women and those on lower incomes need to see a marked improvement in public services and a rise in living standards more generally, if the promise of end to austerity is going to ring true. Our public services and social security system need meaningful investment to actively reverse and repair the damage done since 2010. Spending on social infrastructure, such as health, education, care and specialist women's services builds the social and human capital that is just as important to future productivity as investment in say, transportation networks. After all, it is not just roads but high-quality childcare and reliable healthcare that enable parents to work.
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