The impact of Brexit on women
By Rossella Forlè
The E.U. has been a very positive actor in the development of gender equality policies in the U.K.
On December 31, at exactly 11 p.m. (midnight in Brussels), after almost four years of bitterly divisive negotiations, three failed withdrawal plans and two general elections, Britain will formally end its 47-year relationship with the European Union. But the world post Brexit doesn’t look good for women.
The report ‘Women & Brexit’ written by Mary Honeyball MEP & Hannah Manzur highlights how the legal, economic, political, and social implications of Brexit will specifically and disproportionately disadvantage women.
Women are being expected to shoulder the costs of a political decision in which their voices and interests have not been fairly represented. Within the grand scheme of Brexit, women’s rights and labour have been simultaneously framed as both expendable and as not worthy of mainstream attention.
The impact of Brexit on women’s rights and equality law
The loss of the protection floor, EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, ECJ and EU case law means that current rights and equality standards will be vulnerable to amendment, repeal and revocation post-Brexit.
The risk to current and future employment rights and standards particularly benefiting women which have been subject to UK resistance and recent calls to ‘scrap’ is assessed in terms of post-Brexit risk-factor. These include rights and protections for pregnant workers and majority-female atypical workers, new and enhanced rights and entitlements for parental and carers leave, and gender quotas on company executive boards.
This report finds that the Government has failed to take the necessary action to protect these rights and standards, actively refused to engage with concerns and recommendations by the EHRC and Women’s Committee and demonstrated a wilful disregard of the significant legal threat posed to women’s rights and gender equality by Brexit.
The socio-economic impact of Brexit on women
The expected continuation of discriminatory austerity measures, where women have shouldered the burden of 86% of the past decade of austerity cuts and act as the primary ‘shock absorbers’ of family poverty, will likely have the most devastating and disproportionate impact on women. Gender- blind trade policies and agreements, as well as the predicted widening of the gender pay, and pension gap will also contribute towards women’s economic disadvantage.
Austerity is predicted to continue due to Brexit, largely at the expense of women who have shouldered 86% of the cost of austerity measures since 2010.
Predicted public spending cuts will hit women hardest as the primary users of public services, recipients of welfare benefits, public sector workers, and unpaid carers.
Women are the primary shock-absorbers of family poverty and will bear the brunt of Brexit-induced increases in household expenditure and a decrease in household income.
Women will be affected by gender-blind trade policies and agreements post-Brexit, which will impact women through environmental, consumer and public service standards. The UK is neither equipped nor has it taken steps to maintain current standards of gender equality within post-Brexit trade deals.
Underrepresentation of women in media coverage
Women have been chronically underrepresented in media coverage, parliamentary debates, campaign work, and key Brexit decision-making positions such as Brexit ministers (0%) and negotiators (11-25%).
As well as women’s voices, the subject of women and Brexit has also been marginalised, with no formal debate given in parliament, just 2-6% of referendum campaign material addressing equality issues, not one mention in parliament by the Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson, and little media engagement.
Post-Brexit will see the severe trend of exclusion, dismissal and silencing women’s voices and interests and the dominance of male voices and interests, clouded by the myth of a ‘gender-neutral’ Brexit.
Male figures will prevail in TV and press coverage, as well as the gender gap in voting patterns and outcome preferences, masculinised language of the campaign, and the silencing tactics used against female politicians and journalists.
Post-Brexit will have an effect on women’s rights and gender equality groups and organisations in terms of their political influence, advocacy work, networking abilities and lobbying power.
The loss or diminishing of these capacities may slow progress on gender equality by inhibiting the work of individuals and groups pushing for change. These groups are also likely to be affected by expected defunding post-Brexit as UK replacement funding is uncertain and details on the amount, priorities, and allocation remain undetermined.
Impact on Black, Asian, ethnic minorities, European and LGBTQI+ communities
The report explores the intersectional character of Brexit’s impact on women, with certain groups of women being more affected than others. The specific implications for migrant, Black, Asian, and other ethnic minorities, Muslim, disabled, and LGBTQI+ women, as well as for victims of violence against women and women living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In particular, female EU nationals face a multitude of challenges and threats as a result of the ‘settled status’ system which ‘systematically disadvantages women’.
The EU provides billions in funding for social and gender equality projects, and millions specifically for women’s organisations and support services. Post-Brexit defunding for groups & services is already reaching breaking point from austerity would deny vital support for ‘life-changing, life-saving’ services for thousands of vulnerable women.
UK replacement funding is precarious, and preparations disorganised: the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has still not released details of the amount, allocation, length, or priorities of the fund - leaving women’s groups and services in limbo and risks severe defunding (especially for specialist services). A Government report has acknowledged that funding may decrease as a direct result of Brexit, despite their public rhetoric suggesting otherwise.
Brexit poses several risks to female victims of sexual and domestic violence at a time when women’s support services are chronically underfunded, the UK continues to indefinitely delay ratifying the Istanbul Convention, rates of female-targeted violence in the UK are among the worst in Europe, and violence against women is on the rise.
Victims will no longer have access to cross-border protections like EPOs (Gov rejected amendments to keep them), vital EU funding for support services is under threat, domestic violence is expected to rise as families face Brexit-induced economic hardship, key rights and protections like the EU Victim’s Directive are no longer protected, and legislation protections may be lost or undermined (loss of EU case law and ECJ).
Migrant Women: The UK’s ‘right to reside’ requirements systematically disadvantage women, as a result of economic inactivity due to caring responsibilities, their prevalence in informal and precarious employment, challenges in acquiring settled status for children, their inability to access required documents, and various other factors.
Non-EU partners of EU nationals, victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, low-income and economically inactive EU nationals, long-term and elderly residents, and carers, all of whom are disproportionately female, face further barriers and challenges to securing settled status through a system designed for ‘productive man’.
Indeed, Mandu Reid believes our ever-fluctuating times- from Covid to Brexit- could mean the beginning of real change for women.
“As a passionate remainer it is hard to face the reality of Brexit, but it is necessary,” she says, “What is not necessary, is the decline of hard won rights for women in the name of Brexit, and that is why as the Leader of the Women's Equality Party I will be vigilant about the moves this government makes at every turn.”