Women's Budget Group

12/01/2026

Want to be better informed about developments in feminist economics? Join our newsletter community to hear about news, development, webinars and training events.

Subscribe today!

https://www.wbg.org.uk/newsletters/

09/01/2026

Are you a grassroots women's organisation? Join our beginner-friendly training series to build confidence in finding and using local statistics to support your feminist work.

We’ll cover data on employment, housing, the gender pay gap and the cost of living. No maths or data experience needed.

Each session is standalone, practical, and includes time for peer learning and networking.

Open to participants across the UK. Sessions are online, with daytime and evening options. Places are limited so book your place today. 👇

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/copy-of-local-data-project-find-series-february-tickets-1979748662543?aff=oddtdtcreator

08/01/2026

As the new year begins, we look back at 2025 and the progress we made. Together, we achieved real change for gender equality.

💜 The Employment Rights Bill ensures new workplace protections for women
💜 The proposed disability benefit changes were reversed
💜 The removal of two child limit will reduce poverty
💜 The violence against women and girls strategy includes cross-dept funding

The year ahead will bring new challenges and new opportunities.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together towards a more gender equal society.

30/12/2025

Investing in the care sector isn’t just good for society—it’s smart economics and climate action.

Our research shows that investing 2% of GDP in the UK care sector could create far more jobs than the same investment in construction, while producing significantly lower emissions. In fact, jobs in health and care are among the greenest in our economy—creating over 26 times fewer emissions than manufacturing, and dramatically less than agriculture or oil and gas.

As the UK faces an ageing population and the urgent need for a green transition, it’s clear: a strong care sector is essential for both our economy and our future. 🌍

29/12/2025

Investing in social infrastructure—health, education and care—strengthens our economy and supports gender equality.

These services are essential, just like roads and bridges, and they deliver long-term returns: more jobs, higher tax revenue and better wellbeing. When care services are underfunded, women often pick up the unpaid work, limiting their earnings and pensions.

By treating social infrastructure as investment—not a cost—we can create fairer employment, support carers, and build a more equal economy for everyone. 💜

23/12/2025

Women in the UK and around the world continue to face inequalities that intersect with race, class, disability and more — creating multiple, compounding disadvantages.

This leads to an economy that undervalues women’s paid and unpaid work, overlooks their needs, and leaves them absorbing economic shocks.

But inequality is not inevitable. It is created by the design of our economic and social systems — and it can be changed.

We at the UK Women’s Budget Group work to drive that change. As a feminist economics think tank, we produce evidence on how policies affect women differently and use it to push for fairer alternatives and a gender-equal economy.

Thank you for being with us this year to drive that change. 💜

22/12/2025

The two-child limit will end next Spring — a change that will deliver long-term societal benefits. It will improve children’s outcomes, support mothers, ease pressure on public services and reduce future social costs. 💜

18/12/2025

We welcome today's publication of the Government’s new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, and the high level of ambition it sets out, including the commitment to halving violence against women and girls over the next decade.

We strongly support the Strategy’s recognition that violence against women and girls is a systemic issue and that a meaningful cross departmental response is required to address it.

The commitment of £550 million for victim support services over the next three years, alongside additional funding for health-led responses, safe accommodation and specialist programmes, signals an important step forward.

For the Strategy to deliver the lasting change that we urgently need, it is essential that a significant proportion of this funding is ring-fenced for specialist by and for services.

17/12/2025

Great news! The Employment Rights Bill has passed in the House of Lords.

It offers much-needed extra protections for some of the most vulnerable workers in our economy - the majority of whom are women.

It means that women in low-paid, insecure work will now have access to sick pay from day one.

They will also get day-one right to maternity and parental leave.

The Bill offers vital protections for employees who face sexual harassment in the workplace, alongside the extension of the employment tribunal time limit to six months.

We still need to ensure these protections aren’t watered down, and that they’re effectively implemented by employers, so the protections the Bill promised truly helps build a more gender-equal economy.

16/12/2025

What does it take to shape a gender equal future? Over the last 14 months we’ve brought our expert analysis, training and commitment to partnership to try to answer that question.

And we are making a difference. Every report we publish and bring into media headlines, every workshop we run, every conversation we have with policymakers is part of that change.

Read more about our impact 👇

https://www.wbg.org.uk/publication/wbgs-impact-report-2025/

11/12/2025

The Chancellor’s decision to keep Local Housing Allowance (LHA) frozen in the recent budget means support for private renters is falling further behind rising rents.

LHA was meant to cover the lowest 30% of local rents, but years of freezes mean it no longer reflects real prices.

Since 2013, private rents have risen by around 54%, while LHA has increased by only 36%. Nearly half of privately renting families on Universal Credit (UC) now face a shortfall.

Rents continue to rise sharply. A one-bedroom property now costs £1,082 a month on average, £82 more than last year.

Women are hit hardest, spending around 47% of their median earnings on rent, compared with 34% for men. Single mothers are the most likely to face a housing allowance shortfall.

In the long-term we need investment in social housing. And right now, families need social security that meets reality. 💰🏠

29/11/2025

Did the budget deliver for women? Our Interim Deputy Director, Erin Mansell, breaks down the impact on women.

Read below 👇

The Labour budget offered some promising measures, but lacked any great ambition to tackle inequality