HOW FAIR IS WALES?

Victoria Winckler

The Bevan Foundation

What it’s about

How Fair is Britain?- Triennial Review for GB- comprehensive- evidence-based- huge

How Fair is Wales? - Welsh context- parallels GB but not the same- not huge!

What we did

Approach based on Equalities Measurement Framework

Eight different areas e.g. employment, physical security, health

Forty different indicators and even more measures

Welsh data not available for all

Major challenges

The most significant challenges based on:- numbers affected- severity of effect

NOT the only challenges Some familiar, some surprising May be different in your area

The challenges

5

Life and health Stark differences in

health and life prospects

Gender and socio-economic group combine

Life and health

Challenge of reducing health inequalities

Especially older men

Also younger men

Education and Skills

“Our goal is to stress di-versity while remaining a uni-versity”

Education and Skills

Sharp divide by socio-economic group Inequalities by gender, ethnic group and

disability Challenge to close the attainment gap for

boys, black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils and disabled children

Challenge of young people who are NEET

Employment Employment rate low

in Wales - but not for everyone

Challenge to increase employment rates, especially among disabled and older people

Employment Marked inequalities in

pay, especially by gender, ethnicity and disability

Challenge to close pay gaps.

Legal and Physical Security

Legal and Physical Security

Limited evidence

Challenge to: reduce the incidence of domestic and

sexual violence Reduce the incidence of bullying and hate

crime

Power and voice

Limited evidence

Challenge to: Increase participation of ‘protected groups’ Makes Wales’s public, private and third

sector organisations representative

A new approach?

Socio-economic inequality dominates BUT interwoven with other inequalities Efforts to reduce socio-economic

inequalities to take account of ‘protected characteristics’

Efforts to reduce other inequality must take account of socio-economic inequality.

Conclusions

Wales has changed greatly in 30 years

Huge pressures ahead:- reform of public services- globalisation of economy- demographic shifts

Changing political and legal context

Equality - of all kinds - must be centre of the agenda

Not a disadvantage league table

Mainstreaming of ALL aspects

Read the reports!

Thank you

The Bevan Foundation

Innovation Centre

Festival Drive

Ebbw Vale

Blaenau Gwent NP23 8XA

www.bevanfoundation.org

info@bevanfoundation