Did the Budget deliver for women? Some welcome measures, but missed opportunities on housing, maternity leave and public services. Our Viktoria Szczypior explains why women needed more than small tweaks to improve their economic security. leftfootforward.org/2026/11/did-...

Job alert! Smallwood tackles women’s poverty means addressing both immediate need and the systems that drive inequality. They're now looking for a Place-Based Partnerships Manager. For more details, and apply acf.org.uk/Shared_Conte...

What does the Budget mean for women across the UK? Join us for this timely conversation to examine the gendered impact of the Autumn Budget. Book your ticket 👇 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-uk-aut...

What does the Budget mean for women? Will it make a meaningful difference to women's finances? Read our initial analysis on our website 👇 www.wbg.org.uk/article/some...

What might the Budget mean for household bills, childcare costs or pensions? And will the measures announced by Chancellor John Healey make a meaningful difference to women’s finances? Listen to Dr Daniella Jenkins, our Executive Director share her thoughts on Radio 4 Woman's Hour this morning.

Today’s Budget offers a few much-needed measures to address the cost of living, primarily by shielding households from even steeper energy bills. But many women, particularly single parents on low incomes, won’t see enough help with the scale of financial pressures they face going into this winter.

Our Executive Director, Dr Daniella Jenkins, responds to the Budget:

Every year, the UK loses an estimated £113 billion because women are unable to participate in paid work on equal terms. Gender equality isn’t just a benefit of economic growth – it’s essential to achieving it. www.labourhome.co.uk/labour_mps_w...

Labour MPs warn economy loses £113bn a year by shutting women out of work

A group of Labour MPs elected in 2024 have published essays with the Women's Budget Group and the Good Growth Foundation calling for women's economic participation to sit at the heart of the Governmen...

labourhome.co.uk

Today is Budget day. Sign up to our newsletter to receive our immediate and full response to the Budget, and what it means for women. Sign up 👇 www.wbg.org.uk/newsletters/

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Women in the UK spend, on average, 57% of their earnings on private rent, compared to 41% for men, according to our new analysis. Ahead of tomorrow's Budget, we're calling for housing benefit to be unfrozen, higher maternity pay and lower energy bills. www.labourhome.co.uk/womens_budge...

Women's Budget Group urges Healey to unfreeze housing benefit as women spend 57% of earnings on rent

New Women's Budget Group analysis finds women spend 57% of their earnings on private rent against 41% for men, as the think tank presses the Chancellor to re-link Local Housing Allowance to rents and ...

labourhome.co.uk

Gender equality isn’t just a benefit of economic growth – it’s essential to achieving it. Every year, the UK loses an estimated £113 billion because women are unable to participate in paid work on equal terms. It’s the result of political and economic choices that can be changed.

⏰Just a few hrs to go before our #webinar (with a good-natured competition to see if we can beat our first for numbers – it's close!) 🎟️Register: bit.ly/FiLiAEqualit... 🕕starts at 6.30pm with @akuareindorfkc.bsky.social, @audreysuffolk.bsky.social & Prof. Mary Davis. #WomensRightsAreHumanRights ♀️

Get tickets for #FiLiAEqualityAct – FiLiA Webinar – In Defence of the Equality Act – Zoom

FiLiA Webinar – In Defence of the Equality Act – Zoom, Thu 22 Oct 2026 - The Equality Act has been getting a bad rap in some quarters, with talk of repealing it and all the protections it provides to ...

bit.ly

Maternity pay is wholly inadequate, pushing families into debt and financial hardship. At a time when households are bracing for yet another cost of living squeeze, increasing maternity pay must be at the table at the budget. @tuc.org.uk with our analysis in @lbc.co.uk

We have one of the lowest paid parental leave systems in Europe. Our young families deserve better | LBC

The government's parental leave review is a vital opportunity to look at how we can give new families the financial security they need at one of the most important times of their lives, writes TUC Ass...

lbc.co.uk

Can our social security system make it harder to escape economic abuse? Some policies can leave victim-survivors facing further barriers to financial independence. Our latest blog explores why social security system must be designed with victim-survivors in mind. www.wbg.org.uk/article/econ...

Economic Abuse and the Social Security System: Designing policy with victim-survivors in mind

Looking at our social security system, this article explores how policies can create the conditions for and compound economic abuse.

wbg.org.uk

With one week to go until the Budget, new parents cannot afford to be overlooked. While the govt's parental leave review is underway, families need action now. Maternity pay remains wholly inadequate, leaving many new parents struggling to make ends meet at a time when prices are rising once again.

This is deeply disappointing & risks locking us into further dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets, while the long-term costs of climate damage far outweigh any short-term gains. This is a false economy when the economic & social costs of climate change are already being felt across the country

UK approves Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea

Decision was widely expected after lobbying by Shell but will dismay environmental campaigners

theguardian.com

If the Chancellor is serious about giving people breathing space, boosting maternity pay must be on the table at the Budget. Together with the Trades Union Congress (The TUC), Pregnant Then Screwed, Fawcett Society and Movember we are calling on the Chancellor to improve maternity pay.

Kinship carers have no legal right to paid leave when they take on a child, often at short notice. With 76% of employers backing government-funded paid leave, we've joined Kinship and others in calling on the government to close this gap through its parental leave review.

Two million older people in England already have some level of unmet need for social care. Without change, spending on adult social care is projected to rise by around £9 billion in real terms by 2036 as demand grows. We urgently need a long-term solution to deliver and fund adult social care.

Would cutting taxes improve your living standards? The debate around tax often focuses on how much money people have left in their pockets. But that’s only part of the picture. Our living standards also depend on the public services we all rely on – from healthcare to education and social care.

Our Deputy Director, Erin Mansell, spoke to LBC about Kemi Badenoch’s plans to remove the £100,000 cliff edge for childcare support – and the wider changes needed to make childcare genuinely affordable and accessible.

Care needs are rising and will continue to do so as our population is aging. It’s time for social care to become a settled part of how the UK budgets, because investing in care is not optional. Listen to our director Dr Daniella Jenkins share her thoughts on Al Jazeera

We welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to transform adult social care and introduce a universal service, free at the point of use. For too long, social care has been held back by an unstable funding system, leaving people facing uncertainty and potentially catastrophic care costs.

Social care affects us all. Under the current system, one in seven people will face social care costs of more than £100,000. We think there's a better way.

What if we started asking different policy questions? Instead of starting with what our current system allows, WBG Concepts starts with what people need - and explores the policies and funding that could make it possible.

We welcome the Government’s new national taskforce to tackle misogyny and its recognition that harmful attitudes towards women and girls must be challenged across society. news.sky.com/story/no-wom...

'No woman should have to curb ambitions out of fear': National taskforce to tackle misogyny launched

It comes as Girlguiding says girls are facing rising levels of sexism and misogyny online, in public and in schools.

news.sky.com

Important new research from @carers-uk.bsky.social showing that 1 in 5 workers are now combining paid work with unpaid care. This has increased significantly over the past years. Investing in high-quality and accessible social care & improving workplace support has never been more urgent.

Carers UK@carers-uk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our new research shows over 1,500 people a day are leaving paid work to provide unpaid care. With 6.7M employees having caring responsibilities, stronger workplace support for unpaid carers has never been more important. https://carersuk.pulse.ly/k9powu8naq Thanks to @standardlifeuk.bsky.social

We're proud to have contributed to the publication, 'Ending Business As Usual', a chapter on caring economy. Read more in the Guardian article. 👇 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Burnham urged to tackle inequality with policies including wealth tax

Key thinkers suggest other radical measures in Compass report such as free personal social care and abolishing Lords

theguardian.com

Compass@compassoffice.bsky.social · 2mo ago

THE CARING ECONOMY: Erin Mansell, Sara Reis and Jerome de Henau of @womensbudgetgrp.bsky.social talk social infrastructure putting care at the heart of fiscal policy, universal free childcare, and support for new parents.

Watch our Executive Director, Dr Daniella Jenkins, explain what the Chancellor’s plans could mean for women – and what the Government must consider ahead of the Budget.

We're heading to the Labour and Green party conferences to put women's economic inequality at the heart of the political debate.