MPs to discuss ‘unacceptable’ inequalities faced by women in the North at Westminster event

The Woman of the North report, a hard-hitting new report which exposes growing regional inequalities, is launching in parliament this week [Wednesday September 11].

Professor Dame Lesley Regan, the Women’s Health Ambassador for England, will speak at the launch event – hosted by Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields – alongside authors of ‘Woman of the North: Inequality, health and work’, published by Health Equity North.

The report finds that women in the North live shorter lives, with less of those years in good health. They have fewer qualifications, worse mental health, are more likely to be an unpaid carer and more likely to suffer domestic violence or to end up in the criminal justice system than woman in the rest of England.

In addition, they work more hours for less pay. The cost of which is estimated to be the equivalent of losing out on £132m every week, compared to what they would get paid if wages were the same as women in the rest of the country.

They also contribute £10bn of unpaid care to the UK economy each year – £2bn a year more than if they provided the national average of unpaid care.

The report puts into sharp focus the impact these vast inequalities have on women’s quality of life, health, work, their families and communities.

Around a dozen MPs are due to attend the parliamentary launch with leading academic, health, social care and policy professionals also coming together to discuss the report findings and what steps can be taken to address the wide-ranging issues explored in the report.

Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields, said: “We know that women’s contribution to the wider economy is simultaneously unrecognised and yet absolutely vital. What this report outlines is the disproportionate challenges that those women in the North of England face just because of where they live.

“Regional inequalities are an enormous issue that we must face up to, because the price of ignoring these disparities is wasting the potential of generations of brilliant northern women.”

Hannah Davies, Executive Director at Health Equity North, said: “The Woman of the North report shines a spotlight on the challenges that women in the region are up against from cradle to grave.

“The report makes for uncomfortable reading, but it is crucial that these unacceptable inequalities, from worse healthy life expectancy to mental health and employment, are spelt out so clearly to lay the foundation for action to address the problems.

“Women across the North deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential and for that to happen there needs to be fundamental changes in how women’s health, work and education is approached across the board. We hope the report and our detailed recommendations act as a catalyst for the change that is needed to unleash the potential of women in the North.”

Professor David Taylor-Robinson, Academic Co-Director at Health Equity North, and Professor of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our report shows how damaging the last decade has been for women in the North. Their health, work and quality of life has been harmed by cuts to services, the pandemic, the rising cost of living, and higher rates of poverty.

“But this cycle can be broken with targeted interventions both at regional and national level. The new government has an opportunity to do the right thing by women across the country by investing in measures that support women most in need.”

The Woman of the North report covers employment and education, Universal Credit, poverty, caring, health and life expectancy, pregnancy and reproductive health, sexual health, mental health, domestic violence, criminal justice involvement, stigma, and marginalised women.

It sets out a suite of measures for central government, regional government and the health service to improve the current situation for women’s health.

These include calls for a cross-departmental national health inequalities strategy that puts health at the heart of all policies; updating benefits in line with inflation; abolishing the two-child limit, sanctions and the benefit cap; and additional support for Women’s Health Hubs.

Health Equity North is a virtual institute focused on place-based solutions to public health problems and health inequalities across the North of England. It brings together world-leading academic expertise from the Northern Health Science Alliance’s members of leading universities and hospitals.

Read the report and the full list of recommendations at: https://www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/Woman-of-the-North-report.pdf