Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact

Women and Equalities Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 9 Jun 2020 Closed: 4 Nov 2021 Parliament page
Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact The Women and Equalities Committee is launching three sub-inquiries, drawing on evidence to our Unequal impact: Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the impact on people with protected characteristics inquiry. Read more about our decision to launch the sub-inquires . In this sub-inquiry, we want … Read more
25 Recommendations
12 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
1 Letter
4 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
14 May
2021
Report published
27 Apr
2021
Correspondence
9 Feb
2021
Report published
4 Nov
2020
Oral evidence
14 Oct
2020
Oral evidence
16 Sep
2020
Oral evidence
8 Jul
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
4 Nov 2020
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Helen Walker · Department of Work and Pensions Jo Warner · Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kemi Badenoch MP · Government Equalities Office Mims Davies MP · Department for Work and Pensions Paul Scully MP · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Paul Trenell · Government Equalities Office Tom Hemingway · HM Treasury
14 Oct 2020
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Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact
Dr Duncan Brown · Institute of Employment Studies Dr Monica Costas Dias · Institute for Fiscal Studies Professor Jill Rubery · University of Manchester
16 Sep 2020
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Liz Bayram · Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) Mary Robertson · Trades Union Congress Victoria Brownlie · The British Beauty Council
8 Jul 2020
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Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson · UK Women's Budget Group Professor Abi Adams-Prassl · University of Oxford Rosalind Bragg · Maternity Action Victoria Benson · Gingerbread
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered econo… HC 385 9 Feb 2021 37 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
Clear
3 Conclusion Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We are concerned that the Government’s priorities for recovery are heavily gendered in nature.
We are concerned that the Government’s priorities for recovery are heavily gendered in nature. Investment plans that are skewed towards male-dominated sectors have the potential to create unequal outcomes for men and women, exacerbating existing inequalities. Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the conclusion, stating that advice to Ministers already includes analysis of protected characteristics in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. It asserts that it is not for the government to undertake economic growth assessments of independent organisation's proposals, and defends the confidentiality of policy advice.
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4 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
The Treasury must provide Equality Impact Assessments for the Industrial Strategy and ‘New Deal’.
The Treasury must provide Equality Impact Assessments for the Industrial Strategy and ‘New Deal’. These should include a Gender Beneficiary Assessment of investments from the industrial strategy to date, including receipts of grants, gender occupational composition of companies operating infrastructure … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation, stating that advice to Ministers includes equality analysis in confidence, which is in line with legal requirements, and that it is not for the government to assess independent organisations' proposals.
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6 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We recommend the Government fund training schemes specifically aimed at women in the Digital, AI,...
We recommend the Government fund training schemes specifically aimed at women in the Digital, AI, and the Green Economy through its Kickstart, New Training Fund and Restart programmes.
Government Response
The Government rejected the recommendation, stating that Restart is an open-specification program for all participants, and Kickstart is a job creation scheme for young people, not suitable for specific targeting as a training scheme for women.
Government Equalities Office
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12 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We find it implausible that it is operationally impossible to increase the rates of legacy...
We find it implausible that it is operationally impossible to increase the rates of legacy benefits by the equivalent amount of the increase in Universal Credit. We recommend the Government immediately increase legacy benefit rates by the equivalent amount. Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation, stating the £20 UC uplift was for pandemic-related income falls which did not affect legacy benefit claimants, and they have no plans to extend it.
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13 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
Appropriate and clear guidance to Jobcentre Plus work coaches is vital, given pre-pandemic research which...
Appropriate and clear guidance to Jobcentre Plus work coaches is vital, given pre-pandemic research which found that mothers subject to Universal Credit conditionality felt that their caring responsibilities were disregarded. We were unable to find specific guidance to work coaches … Read more
Government Response
The Government rejected the recommendation, stating that specific emergency childcare easements and guidance are already available to DWP Work Coaches via their intranet and training, and the UC guidance library is publicly available through the House of Commons Library.
Government Equalities Office
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15 Conclusion Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
While changes to the availability for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) have benefited many, it has...
While changes to the availability for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) have benefited many, it has also thrown into sharp relief the demographics of those who are not eligible, and for whom the level of SSP provides an inadequate safety net. … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the conclusion, asserting that SSP is part of a wider welfare safety net and that a 2019 consultation on reforming SSP, including extending it to those below the lower earnings limit, received a good response and will have a response issued shortly.
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16 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We urge the Government to conduct a study to examine the adequacy of, and eligibility...
We urge the Government to conduct a study to examine the adequacy of, and eligibility for, Statutory Sick Pay. Such a study should be published within three months, alongside an equality impact analysis. This should be done alongside our recommendation … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation, stating existing SSP eligibility and referring to a 2019 consultation on reforming SSP, including extending it to those below the lower earnings limit, with a response to be issued shortly, rather than committing to a new study.
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25 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We recommend the Government publish, by June 2021, an early years strategy which sets out...
We recommend the Government publish, by June 2021, an early years strategy which sets out how childcare provision can best support not only working parents, but also those who are job-seeking and re-training. The review must also consider the feasibility … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to publish an early years strategy and extend free childcare eligibility for under-threes, stating that existing childcare support and entitlements are sufficient. It justifies the current age eligibility by citing data on mothers returning to work when children turn three and parental choice not to use childcare.
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31 Conclusion Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We were disappointed that the Government chose to suspend, rather than delay, gender pay gap...
We were disappointed that the Government chose to suspend, rather than delay, gender pay gap reporting and enforcement for this year. Given the high number of women who have been furloughed or worked reduced hours due to caring responsibilities, and … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the committee's disappointment, explaining that the EHRC extended the gender pay gap reporting deadline for 2020/21 by six months due to the unprecedented impact of the pandemic on businesses, asserting this was the right and sensible decision.
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34 Conclusion Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
There have been growing calls for ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.
There have been growing calls for ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting. The unequal economic effects of the pandemic have demonstrated the imperative to introduce these measures.
Government Response
The government rejected the imperative for disability pay reporting, citing existing support programs and a voluntary reporting framework. For ethnicity pay reporting, they are still analyzing consultation data on methodological complexities and will respond in due course.
Government Equalities Office
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35 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
The Government should publish proposals for introducing ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting within the...
The Government should publish proposals for introducing ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting within the next six months.
Government Response
The government rejected publishing proposals for disability pay gap reporting, highlighting existing support programs and a voluntary framework. For ethnicity pay gap reporting, they stated they are still analyzing data from a methodology testing exercise and will respond to the consultation in due course, thus not committing to publishing proposals within six months.
Government Equalities Office
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36 Conclusion Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
Whilst we appreciate the greater ‘reach’ of the ONS data, the HR1 form would provide...
Whilst we appreciate the greater ‘reach’ of the ONS data, the HR1 form would provide valuable (and complementary) real time data, with which to analyse those most at risk of redundancy before policy decisions are implemented.
Government Response
The Government rejected the conclusion, stating that HR1 forms are not an appropriate way to collect the recommended information due to data limitations, and highlighted existing ONS data on redundancies by sex, age, qualification, ethnicity, and disability.
Government Equalities Office
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37 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth report: Unequal impact? Coro…
We recommend the Government amend the HR1 form to require information about the sex, race,...
We recommend the Government amend the HR1 form to require information about the sex, race, and if possible other protected characteristics of staff. (Paragraph 146) 44 Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to amend the HR1 form to collect information on sex, race, and other protected characteristics, stating the form is not an appropriate way to collect this data due to its limitations. It instead points to existing ONS data on redundancies by various characteristics.
Government Equalities Office
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Government Response AI assessment · 37 of 25 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 6
Acknowledged 2
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 7
Rejected 13
Total 25 recs + 12 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
27 Apr 2021 EHRC response to the Committees report ‘Unequal Impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact’
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