Hansard

I thank Kevin Stewart for the gracious comments that he made at the outset of his speech. I was a bit concerned that I would sound conceited when I say that I feel a degree of achievement and fulfilment from having been involved in generating the body of work that the Welfare Reform Committee produced in examining the impact of the current economic climate, which has been created by the Tory party’s welfare changes. The analysis that the committee has undertaken on matters such as the geographical and individual effects of benefit changes, the sanctions regime and the rise in food bank use will serve well not only the Parliament but the country whenever those issues are discussed.

The report that we are discussing might be the most important piece of work that the committee has so far embarked on. The statistics that concern women’s welfare issues in Scotland are staggering. The fact that women are twice as dependent on social security as men are, have fewer financial assets and make up 95 per cent of lone parents who depend on income support is absolutely shocking. That the gender pay gap sits at 32 per cent for part-time workers, which furthers the divide between the financial status of men and that of women, is embarrassing in this day and age.

Those statistics lead us inescapably to the conclusion that women are disproportionately affected by social security reforms, so any unfavourable change that is made to the system will unavoidably be multiplied in its impact on women. For example, in theory, universal credit exists to ensure that everyone in Scotland can easily retain a comfortable level of employment, but many organisations have referred to the disregard for second earners in earnings calculations and said that second earners, who are predominantly female, will have a disincentive to work, as a result of the gender barriers to employment being ignored. That formula must change so that women feel that credit is given to them for the work that they perform.

The Tory Government has evidently been blissfully unaware of the needs of women in regard to social security programmes, or it simply would not be making the changes that it is making. The committee’s report says:

“The Fawcett Society believes that the current job-seeking support system is too crude to be able to deal with the complexities in women’s lives.”

Jobseeking support is vital to ensure that every woman in Scotland has access to a job that is appropriate to her skill level.

The impact of the policies on disabled women and on victims of domestic violence is utterly unacceptable. Disabled women are far less likely to obtain full-time employment than non-disabled people are. Close the Gap’s estimation that

“The employment rate for disabled men is almost 90 per cent compared with only 40 per cent for disabled women”

is an indicator that should set alarm bells ringing at many levels of authority. Discrimination and incorrect preconceived notions about mental and physical capability are only two of the issues that women face day to day.

Similarly shocking information can be found when we look at domestic abuse statistics. Some 80 per cent of such cases involve a female victim. Attempting to leave an abusive partner is not only emotionally and physically challenging; it can be financially crippling. Scottish Women’s Aid has noted that two thirds of women lose their jobs because of domestic abuse-related issues. No woman should have to fear for her economic and professional wellbeing while experiencing such a heartbreaking situation.

I pay tribute in particular to Engender, which played a pivotal role in steering the committee towards initiating its inquiry and took us through the deliberations. More than any other group, it put together a number of recommendations that would help Scotland to move in the right direction on these and other issues.

First and foremost, the Scottish Government must recognise that the policies that are being introduced disproportionately impact on women at all intersections of identity. Therefore, any programme that is proposed or put into place must be beneficial to women, and an evaluation of the impact on women specifically must be completed.

Jobseeking support needs to be updated to include groups of women who often face additional persecution, such as refugees, disabled women, survivors of domestic abuse, those who live in rural areas, older women, lone mothers and carers. It is our duty as a legislative body to ensure that those women are given special attention, as their individual needs are too often overlooked.

Investment in employability services and jobcentres for women who are looking to get back into the labour market is simply money well spent for Scotland. Appropriate training and skilled staff with specialised knowledge should be in place to ensure that those programmes are used as effectively and efficiently as possible.

It would be remiss to have a conversation about women’s welfare without discussing the multiple identities that many women hold. As the committee succinctly stated in its report, many women

“don’t fit neatly into one administrative box and will be hit by reforms to carers, disability and children’s benefits.”

A one-size-fits-all policy will not work for the women of Scotland, who deserve more than that.

Some 51 per cent of the Scottish population are female. It is high time that we recognised the complex needs of women as a workforce and properly considered the impact on women of the welfare policies that we introduce. Scotland will have a chance to make a difference to those and many other issues with the new powers that we are to have. I hope that the report will help to guide the Parliament, others who will consider the issue and future Scottish Governments in the right direction.