Labour MPs warn Healey £113bn lost as women excluded from economy
Female Labour MPs are urging the government to put women’s participation and equal treatment at the centre of economic policy ahead of the Budget. Their report argues that excluding women from paid work on equal terms costs the UK £113bn in economic output each year, making gender inequality a significant barrier to growth.
The estimate has risen from £88.7bn in 2023, and the report says more than a quarter of working-age women are economically inactive. Its proposals include capping childcare costs and providing at least six weeks of paternity leave at 90 per cent of pay. It also highlights barriers in technology investment: female-founded businesses receive just 2p of every £1 of UK venture capital.
In short
- MPs say unequal access to paid work costs the UK £113bn annually.
- Their report calls for childcare and parental leave reforms.
- It argues women’s economic participation should shape national growth policy.
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The case for
The report’s case is that unequal access to paid work wastes skills and limits household incomes as well as national output. Affordable childcare, better-paid paternity leave and fairer access to investment could help more women work or build businesses, supporting growth while making economic opportunity more equal.
The case against
A government weighing these proposals could argue that the £113bn estimate depends on assumptions about how much additional output would result from changing women’s participation, and should not be treated as money that policy can simply recover. Childcare subsidies and paid leave also have fiscal and employer costs, so ministers may favour targeted measures or broader growth policies while assessing which interventions deliver the greatest benefit.