Baroness Smith of Basildon in her maiden speech has said the position of women across the world and in the UK depends so much on access to education.
“While great women are achieving high office in many parts of the world, ‘for many ordinary women across the world life has changed little.’ Ninety per cent of people say they support equal rights, though few thought it had been achieved; ‘when difficult economic times bite, that becomes harder to sustain. There is a gap between the belief that so many articulate and the reality,’ she said.
“She cited an assessment of impact of the recent Budget on women by the House of Commons Library, which found that of the £8.1 billion net personal tax increases or benefit cuts to be implemented, women were paying an estimated 72 per cent and men only 28 per cent. ‘I hope that this is something that the coalition Government will want to look at again,’ she said. ‘If we are to truly develop the potential of women in society, we have to address the disproportionate impact of our own economic policies and ensure that we provide those educational opportunities and economic equality.
“The challenge ahead is to build on the advances made over the decades in the role and position of women in society to widen opportunities in education and employment for women and young people from all backgrounds and all countries so that they can fully realise their potential. ‘Society as a whole will benefit from the knowledge and skills that they have.”
The Labour life Peer is a former Cabinet Office minister and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Communities and Local Government.
Good I hope Angela keeps focused on this. Women have been discriminated against for years and more needs to be done to build on equality improvements of past decades.
The impact of the benefits cuts to lone parents and low income families will not only stigmatise them even further but risks unacceptable levels of poverty in our society. Stop putting lone parents into private sector housing at high rent levels that make working an impossibility. Also remember the importance of mums and dads parenting skills and support. Where is the childcare provision going to come from to cover the school holidays?
Those public servants who are worried about the unemployed ‘volunteering’ in public services should be ashamed of themselves – these people will be working for their welfare. You are all overheads to the taxpayer, I don’t care if my taxes pay welfare payments in return for working in a community service or whether they pay salaries with favourable pension terms to people fortunate enough to be working in the public sector. If we want better public services we have to get a greater return on our investment of taxes and public finances.
We need a welfare to work scheme where everyone works for their welfare support, gaining skills and a route into paid work in the future. For single parents this means they can balance working, childcare and their own educational development and feel a sense of wellbeing and contribution to society. There are not enough jobs or affordable childcare so we need to get real and be practically creative.
For people with disabilities it could mean the ability to make a meaningful contribution based on things they can do rather than focusng on what they are unable to do. I believe we could have a greater return on investment by treating people as human resources rather than dependents. A welfare workforce in grounds maintenance, hospital support services, street cleaning, voluntary sector organisations and community action as a start.