Councils are addressing the economic exclusion of women
Barriers to paid work encountered by women cost economies dearly – but councils are taking a stand.
This article originally appeared in the Local Government Chronicle.
international women’s day
Gender inequality and community wealth building: where are we now?
Four key takeaways
At CLES, we host monthly communities of practice (CoPs) for three sectors – housing associations, the NHS and local government – which bring together practitioners working at a local level to share and develop practice on advancing community wealth building. To mark International Women’s Day we themed this month’s sessions on how community wealth building can be mobilised to tackle gender inequality. Here we draw out four key themes from the discussions and pose the question, where next for gender equality in community wealth building?
The 51%
What if gender equality was at the heart of local plans for a more inclusive economy?
Efforts to rebuild and recover economic prosperity in a time of crisis often fall back on morale boosting images of – generally male – executives, gathered around a building site with hard hats. Economic partnerships and task forces assembled to help areas develop new plans for the future, too, can struggle with diverse representation, not only from women but from marginalised communities of all forms. Even the way in which we evaluate economic progress – in assuming that it will emerge automatically from economic growth – underestimates the importance of prioritising economic equality and diversity as a foundation to a more inclusive economy.
