This year’s International Women’s Day marks the beginning of some lockdown restrictions easing in England, particularly for parents. Mums up and down the country will be experiencing a mixture of relief and anxiety as they send their children back to school after months of home schooling. Now seems like a good moment to step back and assess how the events of the past year have affected women, and what the lasting impacts will be as we move out of lockdown and look to the future.
There are many ways in which the pandemic has been positive for gender equality. The switch to home working has meant that fathers are spending more time with their children than ever before, a pattern which many say they hope will continue beyond Covid. And with the sight of small faces popping up on Zoom calls and in media interviews now an everyday occurrence, there is much more awareness and understanding among employers of the challenges of balancing work and family commitments, and a willingness to give parents flexibility.
But for lots of mothers, the pandemic has meant dealing with the double pressures of work and childcare, with little chance for respite. This is particularly true for single mothers, who have often found themselves having to be their child’s sole parent, teacher and playmate, as well as juggling responsibilities of work and managing the household.
For many of these parents, lockdown has been nothing more than stressful and isolating.
And for those on low incomes, these problems have been compounded by the difficulties of managing on a very tight budget, at a time when costs have gone up and many have lost jobs or seen their earnings drop. 86% of families on low incomes faced extra costs because of the pandemic, and almost two in five have seen their incomes fall.
And on top of this, families are having to deal with the prospect of having their incomes reduced in a few months’ time. The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was a hugely welcome step, but is now set to end in September, following an extension from the UK government at last week’s Budget.
This cut will disproportionately impact the single mothers who are already struggling.
New Freedom of Information data obtained by Save the Children shows that, of the more than 1 million single parents receiving Universal Credit, almost 9 in 10 are women. Single mothers are also more likely to be in poverty, more likely to be trapped in low wage jobs, and more likely to struggle to stay in and progress in work. Parents we work with tell us that the extra £20 has been a lifeline in enabling them to put food on the table, pay bills, and provide the basics that they and their children need.
"As a single working mum who relies on Universal Credit to make ends meet, the ache of an empty stomach is something I’m familiar with. We’re only just managing to get by as it is, and we’re already relying on charity for food when things get tight. But now we face the prospect of losing £20 per week if the government cuts the uplift to Universal Credit from April. Without it, I don’t know how we’re going to manage." Rebecca, single mother in the East of England
1.5 million children were already living in poverty in a single parent household before the pandemic hit. Those numbers will rise even further unless we do more to support these families.
The extension of the temporary uplift to benefits provided some short-term relief for mothers – but only serves to delay the prospect of hardship to later in the year.
And there has been no extension to those still on the legacy benefits system, most of whom are sick and disabled and have received no extra support throughout this crisis.
The country is starting to look forward to a life beyond Covid, but we must make sure that the recovery works for everyone – particularly the most vulnerable in our society. As a first step, the UK government should extend the temporary uplift to at least a year and include those on legacy benefits, to further support parents’ incomes through the crisis and beyond.
In the long term, we need to make sure that the levels of social security are enough for all families to live on, and that parents, especially single mothers, are able to find good-quality work which fits around what they and their children need. This will help ensure that Covid does not leave a legacy of entrenched gender inequality, poverty, and hardship.
Tell the government the lifeline must be kept
Help us show the UK government that the £20pw Universal Credit uplift must be kept in place for at least a year and extended to those on legacy benefits, to ensure all low-income families are given the opportunity to recover from this crisis.
Add your name and we’ll include it in our letter to the government.
