Women in Cheshire living shorter lives than those in the South
According to new research, women in the North of England have shorter lives and work more hours for less pay.
Last updated 4th Sep 2024
New research suggests women across Cheshire are among those who will have shorter lives and work more hours for less pay.
The study, published by Health Equity North, says they are also more likely to be an unpaid carer and live in poverty than women in other English regions.
The report, 'Woman of the North: Inequality, health and work', has been backed by two female northern elected mayors, Tracy Brabin and Kim McGuinness, and calls for central Government to do more to tackle regional inequality.
The findings show that women living in the the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East, have lower healthy life expectancy, fewer qualifications, worse mental health, and are more likely to suffer domestic violence or to end up in the criminal justice system than their counterparts in the rest of England.
Kate Blakemore is the founder and CEO of Motherwell Cheshire. She told Hits Radio News: "It's very systemic. It doesn't surprise me. The North West again was one of the places where women felt most unsafe. None of that is facing a good picture. We can brush it off that women have got equality but we've got such a long way to go. For me, as a grassroots charity, poverty does impact a lot of this.
"Going back to work. The childcare system is failing. Big inequalities around health and I've seen that grow since probably 2017." she said.
"A lot of the health talk and campaigns that go on are brilliant but they're very much aimed at a middle class white woman. A lot of the work we're doing is making sure it's equal depending on culture and age, we've got to be addressing it as a level playing field."
She added: "There are just so many changes unfortunately that have to come from systemic changes and legal changes."
The research also found that girls born in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber between 2018 and 2020 can only expect to live in good health until 59.7, 62.4 and 62.1 years, respectively.
That's up to four years less than the national average and up to six years less than girls born in the South East.
Women in the North contribute £10bn of unpaid care to the UK economy each year, the findings show, while one in five women aged 55-59 in the North of England provide care to a family member because of sickness, disability, mental illness or substance use.
More than 70 academics, health and social care experts contributed to the report.
Hannah Davies, executive director at Health Equity North, said: "Our report provides damning evidence of how women in the North are being failed across the whole span of their lives.
"Over the last 10 years, women in the North have been falling behind their counterparts in the rest of country, both in terms of the wider determinants of health and, consequently, inequalities in their health.
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done".
Among the measures suggested were helping women to claim their rightful benefits, improving childcare provision and ending the two-child benefit cap.