Poverty, ethnicity and gender magnify impact of austerity on BME women says new report

Low income black and Asian women are paying the highest price for austerity according to new analysis by the Women’s Budget Group in partnership with the race equality think tank Runnymede Trust.

The new analysis shows the impact of tax, benefit and public service changes at the intersection of income, gender and ethnicity for the first time. It covers fiscal policy from 2010 up to and including the 2016 Autumn Financial Statement which projected to 2020.

The analysis shows that by 2020:

• Individuals in the poorest households will lose most from tax and benefit changes, but in every income group BME women will lose the greatest proportion of their individual income.
• Low income black and Asian women will lose around twice as much money as low income white men as a result of tax and benefit changes.

The analysis also shows that lone mothers are hardest hit:

• Out of all household types, lone mothers are hardest hit by cuts to services and tax and benefits changes followed by lone fathers and single female pensioners.
• Among lone mothers, it is again BME women that lose the most.

Read the full research.

Keep an eye on the Women’s Budget Group website for its comprehensive response to the 2016 Autumn Financial Statement (to be published 15 December).