Published: 04 March 2009
Summary
Harman: Real help now for women
Detail
ISSUED BY THE NEWS DISTRIBUTION SERVICE ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT EQUALITIES OFFICE
Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, will today urge women to make sure that they know what extra support is available to them through
the downturn, as well as what their employment rights are, as she launches a new booklet 'Real help now for women at an event at No 11 Downing Street.
This comes as new research1 shows that eight out of ten women are concerned about the impact of the downturn on family life, and more than
a third of women reported that the downturn had already reduced the quality of their family life.
The booklet outlines practical advice on everything from where to go for support if they lose their job, help with looking after children, information on skills and training, as well as advice on staying secure and well.
Ms Harman said:
"The global economic downturn affects both men and women - but it affects them in different ways, because women still do the lion's share of caring
for children and elderly relatives; most women are still the "managers of the family;" women have different patterns of work from men - are more
likely to work part time; and because women still suffer pay discrimination at work.
"What hasn't changed since the last recession is that women are still the main family carers. But what has changed is that women's work is even
more important than it was 10 years ago: more important to the household budget; more important to women themselves; and more important to every
sector of the economy.
"We want to reassure women that not only are we taking all the action that we can to stabilise the economy and put it on a strong footing for
the future - but that there is real help now for families that get into difficulty.
"And we want women's voices to be heard in the run up to the London Summit through a big discussion about women and the global economic
downturn."
Today's event at Downing Street is an interactive session with Ministers, charities, unions, business women, and working mothers to engage women in
the debate and help identify how women are being affected by the recession, and how best to build a strong and fair economy in the future.
The event and the new booklet are part of a range of activities to engage women and look at how they are being affected differently to men during
the global economic downturn, and will help ensure women's voices are heard in the run up to the London Summit of world leaders on 2 April 2009.
Last month Ms Harman started an online conversation with women on mumsnet.com and other websites, and commissioned research by Ipsos-MORI
looking at attitudes to and concerns about the global economic downturn. The research revealed a distinct trend of women being more worried than
men about how the downturn will affect:
On Thursday 5th March there will be a debate in the House of Commons to mark International Woman's Day on supporting women and families through
the downturn, and building a strong and fair economy for the future.
The Real Help Now for Women booklet is available from http://www.realhelpnow.gov.uk, which is a new website bringing together details of all of the help available for families and businesses.
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