Column: Austerity has an unequal impact on women. So let’s fix this.

Published: Friday, September 14, 2012

Opinion Piece published on journal.ie, 14 September 2012

Statistically speaking, spending cuts hit women hardest - but protecting disadvantaged groups should be at the heart of the Budget, write Orla O'Connor and Clara Fischer.

RECENTLY THE FAWCETT Society, the leading civil society organisation working toward the amelioration of gender inequalities in the UK, launched its campaign against the disproportionate effects of austerity on women.

According to the Cutting Women Out Campaign, women are triply disadvantaged by government policies purportedly aimed at redressing budgetary deficits, as women are critically impacted by slashed benefits, jobs cuts, and a reduction in services. Owing to previously existing and deeply entrenched gender inequalities, women "entered this recession on an unequal economic footing", and are now even more susceptible to bearing the brunt of austerity and, with it, increased inequality.

While the campaign has been broadly welcomed by civil society organisations in the U.K., there are ample signs that the time is now ripe for a similar focus on austerity and its implications for inequality in the Irish context.

Read article in full on thejournal.ie, 14 September 2012