Financial impact of Covid-19 on women revealed

Urgent action is needed to ensure women do not take a financial step backwards due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Insuring Women’s Futures (IWF) initiative.

The latest IWF report, produced by co-founder of the initiative Jane Portas, has revealed the long-term generational impact of Covid-19 on female financial resilience.

The report outlines ways the government, the financial services profession and employers can work together to ensure the economic fallout of Covid-19 does not cause women today to be worse off than their mothers’ and grandmothers’ generations.

Due to women taking on the bulk of unpaid caring responsibility during the pandemic, plus a surge in relationship breakups prompting more enquiries about reducing child maintenance as the economy entered recession, the report concludes that Covid-19 risks have delayed the closure of the gender pay gap until 2110; and therefore the gender pension gap to 2160.

Before lockdown, the gender pay gap was expected to close in 2050 in the UK, meaning that women were set to reach pension parity in 2100.

Key ‘pandemic priority’ recommendations made by the report include the government should establishing ways to support female students at critical academic and career pathways, and help women who have lost their jobs gain essential skills; making financial guidance available in the workplace to ensure women whose pensions have been depleted by Covid-19 can get their savings pots back on track; and employers committing to flexible working and sign up to the IWF’s Financial Flexible Working Pledge.

To read the full report, visit: bit.ly/38DRC4j