Committee publishes Government response to report on Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact

Monday 17 May 2021 @ 13:33
Parliamentary Committees and Public Enquiries

The Women and Equalities Committee recently published the Government Response to its report on coronavirus and the gendered economic impact.

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The report found that the economic impact of coronavirus has affected men and women differently. This is because of existing gendered economic inequalities, the over-representation of women in certain types of work and the actions the Government has taken.

The Government has welcomed a range of the Committee's recommendations set out in the report and is considering others, including amending current flexible working regulations.

Chair's comment

Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, recently said:

“We are pleased that the Government has accepted our recommendation to amend the current flexible working regulations, removing the threshold for employees to request flexible working arrangements. The pandemic has clearly demonstrated that it is unhelpful and unnecessary.

“In its Response, the Government states it wants to make it easier for people to work flexibly and commit to further encouraging flexible working by consulting on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to. We welcome the launch of the consultation as soon as possible.”

"Our report clearly showed that Government policies have been repeatedly skewed towards men, which is why we set out a range of recommendations that we felt would go a long way towards tackling the problems and creating the more equal future for women.

"We are encouraged to see that the Government has taken the oppourtunity to listen and work towards improving the situation.”

Further information

Channel website: http://www.parliament.uk/

Original article link: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/155163/committee-publishes-government-response-to-report-on-coronavirus-and-the-gendered-economic-impact/

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