RHWACA REPORTS BACK ON: Don’t Turn Back Time on Women’s Equality

It was a fresh and sunny winter morning when we reached Westminster. We were surrounded by women, men and children of all ages together chanting “Our tradition: fighting not submission!” Placards were held high, coloured scarves were wrapped in 1950s hairstyles, around necks and the autumn leaves crunched beneath our determined feet.

You would be forgiven for thinking you had walked into the wrong era. But this is out era and, like our grandmothers before us, we were standing up for equality.

Did you know that a retired government worker receives £4,000 per year, but that a female retired government worker receives just £2,800 per year? This is just one example of the many inequalities that exist, which will only be exacerbated by the coming cuts.

Women’s unemployment is rising due to most part-time workers being female, and in a precarious employment market these jobs are the first to be dispensed with.

Should a woman attempt to return to work after maternity leave, retraining is difficult to find and in some cases they are advised to stack shelves in supermarkets despite having university degrees.

Stress is a main contributor to mental health issues in men and women. Due to the current cuts crisis, women are likely to be forced to take on more roles assigned to their gender. This includes housework and childcare. This drags these women into a poverty cycle. The cycle is due to current unemployment, a lack of opportunities and an unfulfilled need of accessible support.

The government cuts to the public sector mostly affect women as providers of the service and as receivers. Two-thirds of public sector workers are female. Not only are their jobs and their livelihoods being axed but also the services that they rely on such as childcare are eliminated.

Private sector jobs are receiving government investment, but these jobs tend to be male dominated with few childcare options for both current female employees and future applicants.

Every day women around you are subject to some casual form of discrimination or to some sexist remark, so much so that it is not even noticed and a reaction to this provocation is ridiculed.

Our now mild grandmothers had previously fought relentlessly and passionately for the choices we all take for granted today. Let’s not forget that these are our rights, not our privileges. We shouldn’t let our foremothers efforts go to waste. After all, none of us would even be alive if it weren’t for them.

So don’t turn back time on equality and show your support for the November 30^th strikes, get involved with your Student’s Union, your RHUL Women Against Cuts Alliance, your Feminist Society. Together, let’s accelerate towards a time that we would all like to live in.

Read Fawcett report for more information.

By Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton and Martina Cavallo.
RHWACA