Government policies that are particularly harmful to women and women's rights.

[SolidGoldBrass]

Anyone got any suggestions or maybe clear definitions on the current government's poor record on 'female-friendly' stuff?

I already have on my list the cutting of legal aid for DV/separation issues

Closing of Sure Start centres

Funding cuts for women's refuges

Any other things that specifically impact women?

[MatildaWhispers]

I understand the cuts mean more zero hours contracts have been used across the public sector, as more public sector work has been contracted out.

As far as I can see the government are making out zero hours contracts suit women returning to work. They aretotally overlooking the fact it's near impossible to find childcare that works with a zero hrs contract.

[NiceTabard]

right when they came in, at the very start of the cuts, there were quite a few studies / articles / serious stuff around how their fiscal policy was disproportionately impacting on women.

I#ll have a google

[PuffandStuff]

The changes to Child Benefit and cuts to CTC and WTC all affect women more than men.

[NiceTabard]

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/30/women-paying-price-osborne-austerity

[NiceTabard]

here

[NiceTabard]

boris not meeting his election promise to continue funding london rape crisis centres

libdems raising both anonimity for rape defendants and reducing age you can act in porn to 16 at party conference. those ones only talked about and also controversial though. But still.

[NiceTabard]

libs covering up for members of their party committing sex offences for decades.

sex offences against women and men and boys but still. not protecting the vulnerable + looking after your own + boys club = disadvantageous for girls and women, no way it's going to be positive.

[NiceTabard]

am I on a roll?

[NiceTabard]

repeated attempts from various tory members to restrict access to abortion

[PuffandStuff]

boris not meeting his election promise to continue funding london rape crisis centres

Does not surprise me in the slightest

[NiceTabard]

shelving plans to force larger companies to produce banded wage data by sex which were underway

[NiceTabard]

boris keep your promise

[NiceTabard]

worth looking into what ended up happening with boris & rape crisis centres as i remember the controversy but am not up to date on what happened in the end

[NiceTabard]

gove returning to 100% results based on exam.

another controversial one

apparently girls do better at coursework and boys at exams.
this is of course a generalisation - eg I do better at exams and I am a girl
plus - for preparation for workplace, both skills are needed. recall, research, reporting, all things are useful.

If they want equity and believe this then why not 50/50 exam / coursework for everything, then no advantage to either, hmm?

No, gove has returned to results based on exams at very end of course which apparently benefits male students. Presumably because it benefits male students. On average.

[NiceTabard]

tories floated plans to do away with stat mat leave etc for small businesses.

Again - not law - but coming from the party in power.

I could go on for ever

[Darkesteyes]

There was an idea of theirs that single parents should pay £100 upfront to use the CSA Considering that most single parents are women its a sexist mysogynistic proposal/law

[NiceTabard]

YY what happened to that AFAIK it is still going to come in? not heard otherwise

[SolidGoldBrass]

Thank you. Good stuff. I have to construct an argument and want to be reasonably sure of my facts

[TheOrchardKeeper]

The cap on many public sector worker's pay/pensions (i.e council staff, library staff, social workers, occupational therapists etc etc) has mostly affected women as women dominate that area of employment...and the government damn well knows this.

[Darkesteyes]

This is why i cant understand how women who claim to be feminist vote Tory. How ppl like Louise Mensch can claim to be feminist i really cant fathom.
So dissapointed that Red Magazine have picked her for a Reds Hot Business Women judge this year

[Loopytiles]

As has been said, fiscal policy, public sector cuts, funding cuts for local authorities (impact on childrens and social services).

Yy re education changes to go back to all based on exams.

[SolidGoldBrass]

Thanks everyone. I put together my argument and it was good and the opposition shedded themselves without much input from me anyway.

[Darkesteyes]

Nice one Solid