Who Counts?
Background to the Project
The Scottish Government has established 15 national outcomes and 45 national indicators against which it will measure its progress/success and that of the all public bodies. In the Concordat signed between the Scottish and local governments - local authorities agreed not to raise council tax and to deliver against the 15 national outcomes in exchange for the removal of ring-fenced budgets. Each local authority was required to develop a Single Outcome Agreement [SOA] to describe how they do this. Engender conducted an analysis of the first round of SOA’s, at the end of 2008, for gender, poverty and gendered poverty indicators. As expected there were no gendered poverty indicators.
Without an understanding and recognition of the gendered nature of poverty local authorities may develop their policies and practices in ways that make women and children more vulnerable to poverty, remove safety nets or resign them to persistent or recurrent poverty. It is crucial that they recognise the specific risks and hazards that women face and how their policies, practices and services can help or hinder women negotiate these.
The ‘Who Counts?’ campaign will engage women in campaigning for the inclusion of gendered poverty indicators in the SOA’s, drawing on the opportunities availed by the Gender Equality Duty, and the associated requirements for gender impact assessment and stakeholder consultation.
About the project
Funded by the Esmée Fairbairn foundation this project will involve carrying out participatory research with nine groups of women across three local authority areas in Scotland. The women will come from a mix of social /equality backgrounds and will bring their own experience and understanding of poverty issues to identify gendered poverty indicators relevant to their local community. This work will be carried out using a ‘life course’ model highlighting (poverty risks, hazards and vulnerabilities; persistent and recurrent poverty; impoverishment and time poverty).
How will it run?
The project will run over 12 months beginning November 2009:
• Following initial interactive workshops using the life course model to raise and discuss issues around gendered poverty we will encourage a mix of women from each of the nine groups to identify what they see as key gendered poverty indicators against which their local authority should be delivering.
• Engender would work with interested women to develop campaign messages, ideas for materials and strategies to engage more people in using the indicators to target public bodies.
• We will work together to produce campaign packs to encourage women’s groups to join the ‘Who Counts?’ Campaign.
• At least 100 groups across Scotland will receive a campaign pack and Engender will follow up with interested groups to establish support. We would hope to engage with groups in at least half of all local authority areas in Scotland.
What Counts? Day
Approximately 50 ‘events’ across Scotland run by local women to demand that public bodies acknowledge the gendered nature of poverty and agree to report on the gendered poverty indicators as a way of ensuring that their policy and practice addresses poverty for women, children, pensioners etc.
Follow-up/Impact
Engender will organise a Parliamentary meeting to encourage MSPs to sign a statement of support for the women’s demands for Community –Based Gendered Indicators
Engender will support the women’s groups with any requests for public body responses. We will follow up the events day with presentations to COSLA and to local authorities on the implications of their SOAs for gender poverty; the findings of the research; and support in how to respond.
