Employment

Background: Women in Coventry are less likely than the national average to be in paid work and this is particularly true for older women in their 50s and 60s. Women are the majority of those working in the public
sector.

The cuts
• Between October 2010 and June 2011, 924 public sector jobs were lost in Coventry.
• Between January and September 2011, 323 women and 134 men left Coventry City Council jobs through redundancy or early retirement.
• The City Council are predicting a loss of a further 500 jobs in 2012.35
• Cuts to NHS staff in Coventry include a recruitment freeze at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS, and an expected loss of up to 250 jobs at George Elliot Hospital. 560 jobs are also expected to go at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust.
• The continuing public sector pay freeze means that any public sector worker earning more than £21,000 has had their pay frozen for 2 years and any public sector worker earning less than £21,000 will receive a £250 annual pay increase.

The impact: If public sector cuts lead to disproportionate job losses among older  women in Coventry it will increase overall inequality between women and men in Coventry. Public sector pay freezes and cuts in hours may also exacerbate this situation.
At the same time, women face disproportionate impacts of cuts to social care, cuts to childcare and cuts to disability benefits. This will make it harder for women with caring responsibilities (including grandparents) and disabled women to stay in the workforce.