Autonomy has today published findings that show that three quarters of the people working in jobs most at risk of contracting Covid-19 are women. That might seem obvious to many people given that women make up 77% of the NHS workforce and the vast majority of social care workers, as well as other high risk jobs such as childcare. This crisis has certainly laid bare the lack of progress in dismantling occupational segregation in the UK.

These findings are a wakeup call for the government to finally prioritise social care

“This budget is about funding men’s jobs while women are left behind. When you do that, you increase inequality, damage society’s ability to deal with future crises and epidemics like Coronavirus and create the context in which violence against women and girls thrives.”

"The domestic abuse bill is one of the most over-announced and under delivered bills in recent political history. First announced in 2017, successive Conservative governments have failed to deliver this life-saving legislation: delaying the consultation stage, nearly killing it when Boris Johnson decided to illegally suspend parliament, and choosing not to carry it over to a new parliamentary session when a general election was called.

The Women’s Equality Party welcomed the Conservative Party’s pledge to reform the parole system, but said it risks placing the onus on victims to get the right outcomes.

The conservative Party’s reforms are a response to the outrageous and indefensible Parole Board decision in January 2018 that allowed serial rapist John Worboys early release from prison. The decision was subsequently challenged by victims and reversed, keeping Worboys in prison indefinitely. 

Today represents a huge victory for the tireless campaigners who have spent years fighting for the rights of women in Northern Ireland, including our courageous activists.

The Women's Equality Party welcomes by Belfast High Court’s ruling that Northern Ireland’s abortion law breaches human rights.