A report said that women were failing to adequately save for a pension, and millions faced poverty in retirement.
Source: What Women Want: Pensions designed for the lives they lead, Scottish Widows plc (0131 655 6000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Scottish Widows press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that transport systems were failing to address the needs of women. This failure wasted public money, denied access to vital services, impeded job prospects, failed to ensure that people could travel safely, and excluded the vulnerable.
Source: Kerry Hamilton, Linda Jenkins, Frances Hodgson and Jeff Turner, Promoting Gender Equality in Transport , Working Paper 34, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2005-Sep
Research found an "alarming" lack of awareness on pensions among women, with most lacking a reasonable basic knowledge. Most non-working women with caring responsibilities ? those most likely to find themselves without even the full basic state pension ? had little or no knowledge of pensions.
Source: Karen Bunt and Fiona McAndrew, Women?s Attitudes Towards Pension Reform, Working Paper 38, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2005-Jul
Researchers explored how women planned financially for retirement, the decisions they took that affected their financial status in retirement, and the factors that influenced or underpinned them.
Source: Wendy Sykes, Alan Hedges, Helen Finch, Kit Ward and John Kelly, Financial Plans for Retirement: Women?s perspectives, Research Report 247, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jun
A paper examined the way in which social security benefits and tax credits might reinforce inequalities between women and men, and policy changes which could help reduce lifetime income inequalities between the sexes.
Source: Fran Bennett, Gender and Benefits, Working Paper 30, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that the pension system failed to take account of women s needs or working patterns, and that the least well-off were likely to be hit hardest when the pension age was increased to 65. It called for urgent action to make the system fair.
Source: The Women and Pensions Scandal: A blueprint for reform, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200) and Fawcett Society
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Apr
A report examined gender issues in healthcare. It said that promoting gender equality could transform cancer, mental health, sexual health services, and coronary care.
Source: Improving the Health of Men + Women, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244) and Gender and Health Partnership
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A report summarized calls to a national helpline designed to help women better understand their pension position. 7 out of 10 callers were not making any private pension savings to supplement their state pension entitlement. 80 per cent of these callers were over 50. Many women cited the complexities of the state system as a particular source of confusion.
Source: Report on Women and Pensions Helpline, Pensions Advisory Service (020 7233 8016)
Links: Report (pdf) | PAS press release (Word file)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government announced that European Union member states had agreed that the EU Gender Directive, giving equal treatment to men and women in goods and services, would still allow United Kingdom insurance firms to use gender as a basis of risk if objective data could justify the difference - for example, in selling car insurance.
Source: Press release 2 January 2005, Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 5000)
Links: DTI press release
Date: 2005-Jan