Child Poverty and Mothers Employment Patterns - Exploring Trends

Date: 12th September 2012
Category: Basic Health and Welfare, Family Environment and Alternative Care
Author: Save the Children

Save the Children has published a briefing looking at child poverty and mothers employment patterns in Scotland, in partnership with the Women in Scotland's Economy Research Centre.

The briefing highlights the key role of maternal employment in tackling child poverty on two levels:

1. Firstly it highlights the link between increases in women's employment between 1998-2008 and reduction in the number of children living in poverty.

2. Secondly it looks at the lived experience of children and how women's income can affect this. Women are more likely than men to be the 'money managers' in poor households and children benefit from women's approach to household accounting and consumption decisions.

The recession has impacted negatively on women's employment, particularly through 'austerity' measures on public sector employment and severe cuts in welfare spending. This has had a disproportionate impact on women's incomes.

At a time when female unemployment is at a record high and the number of children living in poverty is set to dramatically increase Save the Children is calling on Government and stakeholders to look at addressing the major barriers that prevent women finding work and managing family/ work balance and to recognise that links to tackling child poverty.

• Read the briefing here.