The stakes for women in the UK general election on July 4

Women in the UK are the unhappiest in Europe, and 14 years of Conservative Party rule certainly hasn’t helped – in fact, government policies have made our lives much worse. The impact of economic austerity has fallen disproportionately on women, while the rise of zero-hours contracts, which women are more likely to be employed in, has increased job instability. At the current rate of closing the pay gap, it will take another 20 years. No woman I know delights in work-life balance, with the rising costs of everything from groceries to housing and childcare putting pressure on all sides. Then we have Brexit, which makes it much harder for any of us to escape and build lives in more women-friendly countries.

Therefore, the news about the upcoming elections gives us hope. Whichever government comes, it will have to talk to the women of the country and give us something to be optimistic about. Labor has already committed to ending zero-hours contracts, but it needs to go further. Child benefits should be increased and the upper benefit limit for two children should be abolished. Pay gaps based on gender, ethnicity and disability need to be directly addressed with more provisions for flexible, remote and hybrid working, as well as better leave policies for carers, people who have had a miscarriage, menopause or are undergoing fertility treatment. The rights of transgender people should be protected, and proposals regarding sex education similar to Art. 28 should be rejected. Fertility education could also be improved, and the alarming rise of misogyny and incel culture online requires a targeted strategy.

Women need to feel that the government has their best interests – and the interests of their families – at heart. It’s no mystery why birth rates are declining; Many women simply believe that they cannot afford to have children in the current economic climate, and we know that they end up terminating their desired pregnancies. The massive expansion of the childcare system under the Conservative government is one of the few things it has done that will benefit women, but it has not been well thought out, and the Labor government can and should go further by recognizing and easing pressure on the sector as a whole.

The idea of ​​free breakfast clubs in primary schools is a good idea, but it would be great to see real steps towards comprehensive care. My head still spins when I think about how working parents are expected to cope without help caring for their children during school breaks. Council-funded play programs are few and far between; how great would it be to see them rolled out across the country? Sure Start children’s centers – most of which closed under the Tory government – should reopen.

Furthermore, our maternity and paternity leave systems need to be completely overhauled; Giving fathers just two weeks of paternity leave not only exacerbates the gender imbalance in domestic work, but deprives them of time spent with their children in the first weeks and months of their lives. We know that women are happier when their partners share responsibilities, and a more egalitarian leave system would likely lead to fewer women suffering from postnatal depression and anxiety.