Reimagining Work - GE 2024 - Women's Equality

Women are cracking under the pressure of work and unpaid care. Almost half of all working age women in the UK are providing 45 hours of unpaid childcare per week.The workplace was never designed for us, and we are increasingly expected to give our all to our jobs, whilst plugging the gaps in a failing care system. It’s unsustainable, and driving ill health and inequality. 

The pandemic showed us that flexible ways of working are possible. You just need the political will to deliver them. Forty percent of women who aren’t working reported that accessing flexible work would mean they could take on more paid work. This access could unlock £28.4 billion more per annum for women in earnings. A redesigned workplace would enable people to balance work with caring responsibilities, reduce unnecessary journeys, make the workplace more accessible to Disabled people and deliver a more equal society.

  • Move to a 35 hour working week, with a corresponding increase to national minimum wage

  • Ensure all contracts are flexible by default, with the onus being on employers to justify fixed working hours

  • Require employers to justify working locations, protecting the right to home working for those who choose it. 

  • Introduce paid carers leave

  • Guaranteed nine months shared parental leave at 90% of pay, with a minimum of three months leave for each parent (or for a nominated person for single parents). 

A better workplace isn’t just about flexibility. It is about restoring and expanding workplace protections to ensure that everyone has a right to a stable, decent income. 

  • Equal employment rights for all workers from day one. Including those on zero hour contracts. 

  • Repeal anti-union legislation, and protect the right to strike. 


  
        
  

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Published and promoted by Catherine Smith on behalf of the Women's Equality Party
at Women's Equality Party, 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX.

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