Explore the issues

There are 1 million young women in England and Wales struggling to live on low or no pay. We want them to thrive and have a fairer working future which is why we are working hard to address the income gap.

Transcript of The Income Gap video

Cost of living crisis

Young women have been hit especially hard by the rising cost of living and are more likely than young men to be struggling to make ends meet. This is because young women were already earning less to start with.

On average, young women take home around 22% less than young men. Young women are more likely to be doing unpaid caring work, like caring for children or younger siblings. So they are more likely to be in part-time jobs, not able to get enough hours or to progress or not working at all.

Our research report, Just Getting By: Young Women’s Trust Annual Survey 2022, highlights the difficulties young women today face as the financial divide between young women and young men gets wider.
Read our 2022 research report Just Getting By

Sabrina looks at the camera, smiling

Sabrina's story

Sabrina lost her job in August 2021 and was diagnosed with a long-term medical condition in the same month.  

She opens up about trying to save money on food and feeling sick when she saw her energy bill.

I felt sick when I saw my energy bill

Costing Our Futures

The cost of living crisis is impacting young women’s futures. Young women feel ignored by politicians and don’t believe the government will prioritise their needs.

We’re calling on the government to

  1. Extend the National Living Wage to those under the age of 23.
  2. Increase benefits now so that they cover the rising cost of living instead of waiting until April 2023.
  3. Guarantee affordable childcare that enables young women to work the hours they need to.

Sign our open letter to government and lend your voice to our Costing Our Futures campaign. Our open letter was written by Ire Adebayo, a young woman working in social care in Huddersfield who, like thousands of other young women, is struggling to make ends meet. In our open letter, we are calling on the Prime Minister to meet with young women, hear about the real challenges they face and discuss how the government can act to make a difference to their lives.

Sign the Costing Our Futures open letter

#CostingOurFutures

We’re campaigning with young women on these 4 goals

A group of young women in a workshop space

Building equal workplaces

Young women face discrimination at work every day. A third of young women have faced discrimination when looking for work or while working.

Woman at a microphone

Smashing career stereotypes

We want to break down barriers to opportunities for young women, so they can smash career stereotypes and be anything they want to be.

A group of young women laughing

Guide to working inclusively with young women

We have developed a toolkit with young women called Working inclusively with young women.

It highlights the benefits of involving young women in decision making, what to consider when seeking their views and the most effective ways to encourage their meaningful participation.

Download the guide [pdf]
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