E Library Resources

This report aims to stimulate a fresh debate about one of the most important issues facing our society: how best to care for our children. We propose three changes to help overcome inequalities and move towards better childcare for all.

Women's Resource & Development Agency, Children in Northern Ireland and Women's Information Northern Ireland joint response to OFMDFM's "Delivering Social Change Through Childcare" Strategy, November 2015

NIRWN's consultation response to OFMDFM's "Delivering Social Change Through Childcare" Strategy, November 2015

Explores childcare demand among ethnic minority groups in Northern Ireland.

Provides a critical examination of the Northern Ireland Executive's latest childcare policy document, Bright Start, from the perspective of women in disadvantaged and rural areas.

Provides a comparative study of childcare policies.

Reviews childcare costs in Northern Ireland

A guide for parents and care givers from Plan International on how to talk to children about the Covid-19 Crisis

Reviews the nature of government support for childcare costs within universal credit.

Summary of The Progressive Policy Think Tank paper arguing that automation presents an opportunity to narrow gender inequalities.

Toolkit on how to end sexual violence and harassment in third level education.

This report sets out arguments for a much shorter working week. It proposes a significant shift in what is considered ​‘normal’ – down from 40 hours or more, to 21 hours. While people can choose to work longer or shorter hours, we propose that 21 hours – or its equivalent spread across the calendar year – should become the standard that is generally expected by government, employers, trade unions, employees, and everyone else.

discusses how gendered behaviours are perceived in the workplace. Comments on development of these attitudes over time.

Booklet produced by TUC on women's rights at work relating to sexual harassment. 

Looks at how humanitarian crises have a disproportionate impact on the secondary education of girls.

Breif summary of PLAN International's report on the impacts of humanitarian crises on girls' secondary education.

Draws on research carried out during throughout the first half of 2014 to identify gaps and unmet needs in education and training affecting women in disadvantaged and rural areas.

Provides an overview of how programmes for a ‘hard to reach’ target group can be delivered successfully in a women’s centre setting.

Report assessming the impact of Women's Tec over a three year period.

A Report by MATRIX into the impact of women in science.

Outlines issues facing minority ethnic women wanting to secure employment, while making a number of recommendations.  Also compares and contrasts the experiences of the integration of minority ethnic women in business across the island of Ireland.

The Women into Non-Traditional Sectors (WINS) project led by Belfast City Council and the Equal at Work project in Dublin, both part-funded by the EU Equal Initiative, commissioned research into mechanisms for brining women into non-traditional occupations north and south. Training for Women Network (TWN) carried out the work for Northern Ireland and the Women’s Education Resource and Research Centre (WERRC) at University College Dublin (UCD) carried out the research for the Republic of Ireland.

Investigates the barriers to participation faced by women from minority ethnic backgrounds in starting up and conducting businesses in Northern Ireland, encompassing issues for businesses in general, issues for women and issues for members of minority ethnic groups.

Executive Summary of the final comparative report of the Enlargement, Gender and Government project by Queen's University Belfast

In most developed countries, economies are facing population ageing, falling fertility rates and stagnating labour force participation. The ability of governments to fund future pension and health-care expenditure relies to a large extent on income tax and social security receipts from workers. Policymakers are generally in agreement that increasing the labour force participation of women, without reducing the fertility rate, is needed. In the year 2000, with the aim of increasing women's labour market participation, a partial individualisation of the Irish income tax system was initiated. Using the Living in Ireland survey and a difference-in-differences framework, I investigate whether this reform had any effect on female labour supply and caring duties. I find that the labour force participation rate of married women increased by 5-6 percentage points in the wake of the reform, hours of work increased by two per week and hours of unpaid childcare decreased by approximately the same margin.

ifty years on from the Equal Pay Act 1970, women are still fighting to make equal pay a reality. Far from this battle being won, this report shows that women are routinely unaware of what their colleagues earn, and therefore unable to secure equal pay. From supermarkets and councils to broadcasters and catering companies, men are still being paid more for the same work, work rated as equivalent, or work of equal value.

This briefing paper from the New Economics Foundation summarises the case for shortening people’s working hours without a loss in pay and puts forward an initial policy framework for getting there. It also marks the beginning of a new stream of work supporting those in trade unions, industry and government seeking to pursue this cause in the UK and across Europe.

A graphical timeline of gender equality in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Programme for Government from the National Women's Council of Ireland saying there can be no going back and calling on the new Government to significantly invest in public services and infrastructure to build on the response to COVID 19.

Report by WUNRN looking at how Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) is being implemented in urban planning.

2019 report on girls choices in Benin, Togo and Uganda.

This paper presents a costing analysis for a set of family-friendly services and transfers: income protection for children, people of working age, and older persons; universal health coverage; and early childhood care and education and long-term care services. The social protection and care policies that are included in the costing have enormous significance for families and broader society, and their implementation would have particularly important impacts for women, since they are over-represented among those without income security, they face specific life course contingencies, and they take on a highly disproportionate share of unpaid care work.

A series of demands on gender equality issues, directed at local descision makers. 

Created by UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality provides a systematic approach and targeted platform where a global audience can engage and become change agents for the achievement of gender equality in our lifetime. This requires an innovative, inclusive approach that mobilizes people of every gender identity and expression as advocates and acknowledges the ways that we all benefit from this equality. HeForShe invites people around the world to stand together as equal partners to craft a shared vision of a gender equal world and implement specific, locally relevant solutions for the good of all of humanity.

This paper begins by presenting an overview of the latest research on cash transfers, gender protection, and empowerment outcomes. It continues by discussing some of the programme design features to consider when seeking to improve gender outcomes. Finally, the paper concludes with a set of research questions that can help shape future research and practice in this area.

Information for individuals on how to organise an event and network to explore how men can be allies in the process of gender equality.

A report by the UN looking at advancements in women's equality with regard to child custody

Contains concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the UK from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Guide for creating a gender equal workplace

Evidence submitted to the Justice Committee by WRDA in relation to the Domestic Abuse Bill 2020.

Explores the nature of the UK gender pay gap from 1995 to 2007 using data from the British Household Panel Survey.

This study addresses the percolation and domestication of the United Nations’ “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Transforming our World” in Germany with a view to understanding its impact on domestic gender equality policies. Concentrating on federal-level policymaking, the main finding of the study is that the 2030 Agenda and SDG 5 have, as of yet, not had a discernible impact on domestic gender equality struggles. This is surprising, since the 2030 Agenda offers a holistic conception of sustainability, and thus has the “value added” advantage of merging and transcending the rather disjointed gender, social justice, and ecological sustainability policy strands.

Looks at the extent to which EU Member Statesand EEA/EFTA countries have developed gender equality considerations in their policies designed for the active inclusion of vulnerable groups in society. The report provides concrete policy examples across the three pillars of the active inclusion strategy, these being adequate income support, inclusive labour markets and access to quality services.

This paper seeks to demonstrate the need and benefit of women-only services across Northern Ireland as well as providing the women’s community and voluntary sector with a tool to lobby for funding as well as to highlight the uniqueness and benefits of women-only services, not just for women but families and the community as a whole.

This report by Stonewall exposes the profound impact that discrimination, violence and exclusion is having on trans people’s quality of life in Britain today.

Summarises the current issues that matter most to local women based on views gathered at the launch of the Women's Regional Consortium in February 2014.

Minimum wages are often advocated as tools to alleviate poverty as long as they are not set so high that they reduce employment. Because women are more likely than men to work in low paid jobs, minimum wages can also help to reduce the gender pay gap. This study examines how the gender wage gap changed following the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in Ireland in 2000 and the United Kingdom (UK) in 1999.

Proposes and details a conceptual framework to set out how equality responsive budgeting can be used within budgetary processes to further assist public authorities in promoting equality of opportunity and good relations.

A report on a pilot project seeking to develop a rights based approach to women's empowerment.

Examines current progress towards action plan commitments at the mid-term point of the Gender Equality Strategy.

Women are disproportionately in low‐paid work compared to men so, in the absence of rationing effects on their employment, they should benefit the most from minimum wage policies. This study examines the change in the gender wage gap around the introduction of minimum wages in Ireland and the United Kingdom (U.K.). Using survey data for the two countries, we develop a decomposition of the change in the gender differences in wage distributions around the date of introduction of minimum wages. We separate out “price” effects attributed to minimum wages from “employment composition” effects. A significant reduction of the gender gap at low wages is observed after the introduction of the minimum wage in Ireland, while there is hardly any change in the U.K. Counterfactual simulations show that the difference between countries may be attributed to gender differences in non‐compliance with the minimum wage legislation in the U.K.

Brings together qualitative research into women’s experience of violence in Northern Ireland.

Paper from the Lancet Medical Journal looking at the link between Domestic Violence and quarantine measures in response to Covid-19.

Comprises an audit of the work of WSN members in Europe.

Funding life-saving specialist domestic abuse support services, will cost £393 million per year. This investment would be a fraction of the estimated £66 billion annual cost to society.

This is the finding of Women’s Aid’s latest report, which examines the cost of fulfilling the previous government’s committed to delivering a statutory duty on local authorities to fund refuge services, alongside sustainable funding for wider specialist domestic abuse services.

A discussion note on the potential role of the UK parliament in introducing Abortion reform to NI.

Investigates the rights of older people in nursing homes in Northern Ireland.

Discusses the role of the UK Parliament in regards to Abotion in NI.

Women discuss mental health in their own words.

This briefing paper was commissioned to summarise the key approaches and principles based on the available international evidence,and guidelines that may help inform the decision making and shape and influence aspects of health and social care, as well as some of the contextual factors that affect the lives of asylum seekers and refugees.

examines the effectiveness of current mental health provision in Northern Ireland

explores how ethnonational conflict in the jurisdiction has adversely impact mental health and wellbeing

The Department of Health and Social Care has asked the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to consider reforms to the law of surrogacy in the United Kingdom.Surrogacy is the practice of a woman (who we refer to in this paper as the “surrogate”) becoming pregnant with a child that may, or may not, be genetically related to her, carrying the child, and giving birth to the child for another family (who we refer to as the “intended parents”).This Consultation Paper sets out provisional proposals for, and questions about, the reform of the law of surrogacy.

seeks to measure the mental health impact of ethnonational conflict in the jurisdiction

From One Hell To Another finds that the Home Office is locking up women from China who have been trafficked to the UK, in contravention of its own policies.

We Are Still Here finds that vulnerable asylum-seeking women are still being locked up in immigration detention. This is a hard-hitting, critical report which was widely covered by Sky News, BBC and the Guardian on publication and whose findings have been frequently mentioned in Parliament.

Explores the trans-generational impact of the Troubles on mental health

The Way Ahead lays out how to build an asylum process which does not rely on detention.

outlines health inequalities in Northern Ireland between the most and least deprived areas

Report looking at the impact of the care burden on girls' lives.

Analyses the Breast and Cervical Screening Programme and Sexual Health for Parents programme delivered by WRDA.

Birthwise surveyed women who gave birth in NI from 2015-2019 and developed recommendations from this data. This document contains the survey questions, analysed results, recommendations and executive summary.

Paper from the Lancet Medical Journal on the importance of sexual and reproductive health during Covid-19.

Examines evidence for interventions to promote gender equality in prevention of violence against women.

Executive summary of the Birthwise Maternity Survey. The survey recorded the experiences of self selecting women who gave birth in NI between 2015-2019.

Explores the relationship between gender equality, domestic violence and human rights in the Northern Ireland case.

Women’s Resource and Development Agency response to 'A New Legal Framework for Abortion Services in NI' Consultation

Increasing evidence is emerging that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) exists within the UK. The aim of this report is to offer a better understanding of this practice within the UK, particularly in relation to human rights. This report provides an overview of the basic elements of FGM –the different types;how widespread it is;the main motivations behind the practice;the health consequences;and how to identify its use. Itsets outthe legal framework that has been setup in the UK to criminalise this practice; it considers thelack of convictions related to FGM in the UK;and it provides examples of good practice for measures that could be taken to help improve implementation of the laws that exist. The report also looks at FGM through a human rights lens, establishing the obligations that the UK has under international and regional human rightslaw in a bid to effectively eradicate the presence of FGM within the UK. It concludes with recommendations to be considered for improving the UK’s approach to eliminating FGM and adhering toits human rightsobligations.

Explores children’s experiences of poverty and educational disadvantage and their attitudes to education.

This report into the barriers facing women living in disadvantaged areas was commissioned by the Women’s Centres Regional Partnership with funding from the Voluntary and Community Unit of the Department for Social Development. The aim was to carry out a baseline study detailing the position of women in disadvantaged communities, providing analysis of barriers to participation and indicating key policy issues to be addressed.

Contains headline poverty figures drawn from the latest Households Below Average Income datasets for the period April 2011 up to the end of March 2012.

A report on the long term impact of the Credit Crunch on yound people entering the work force between 2008-2011. Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive of the Young Women’s Trust comments on the particular impacts on young women.

Report detailing how welfare reform since 2010 has endangered the right to food for the poorest people in the UK.

Recommendations to achieve a gender equal economy in the general election 2019

Many analysts agree that the most challenging issue facing the labour market is the quality rather than the quantity of employment. The evidence presented in this Research In Brief however suggests that these headline figures have been masking a more worrying story about the changing nature and quality of employment in Northern Ireland. Specifically, this Research InBrief shows that insecure employment and low pay present particular challenges to improving the quality of jobs and providing decent work for all.

Examines the findings of a number of projects examining the associations between jobs, skills and poverty, with a view to identifying ‘sustainable solutions’ to in-work poverty and worklessness.

This publication presents annual estimates of the percentage and number of people, children,working age adults and pensioners living in low income households in Northern Ireland (NI). The estimates are used to monitor poverty rates in Northern Ireland. The estimates for all individuals in Relative and Absolute Poverty,both before and after housing costs,are included in the Draft Programmefor Government. The data published is for the financial year April 2017to March 2018.

Analyses data on child poverty and social exclusion in the United Kingdom, presenting a child poverty measurement

his is a report about the causes of poverty among women and the consequences that poverty has on women’s lives. It is part of a collaboration between the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) and five women’s organisations in Coventry to improve the support they provide disadvantaged women.

This is a report about the causes of poverty among women and the consequences that poverty has on women’s lives. It is part of a collaboration between the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) and five women’s organisations in Coventry to improve the support they provide disadvantaged women.

Provides the latest data on poverty in Northern Ireland, focusing on associations between poverty, work, disability and age.

Provides DARD statistics on a wide range of rural issues, including agriculture, food, animal health, fisheries and forestry in Northern Ireland.

Aims to provide an overview of the main approaches being taken to alleviate rural poverty and increase rural development, as well as exploring whether these approaches have specifically targeted or benefitted rural women.

Considers issues of gender mainstreaming and the use of focus groups and audits to illustrate understanding and demonstrate current levels of representation.  

Contains commitments on rural issues by all Departments and provides a framework for a more integrated approach by the Executive in seeking to address the challenges facing our rural communities.

Looks at the barriers affecting women's access to public and statutory services in rural communities in Northern Ireland.

Briefing on the impact of the issues outlined in the UK Government Brexit risk report on women.

A review carried out by Queen's University Belfast on behalf of the Department of Justice looking at the impact of 2014 criminalisation of payment for sex.

Department of Justice review of the report by QUB on the impact of the criminalisation of payment for sex.

A leaflet prepared by Youth Action.

A report on the prevalence and types of sexual harassment in the UK.

A report by Housing4All looking at the human rights abuses faced by people seeking asylum particularly in relation to housing.

Women who have come to the UK to seek safety are instead being made homeless, hungry and vulnerable to abuse. ‘Will I ever be safe?’ is the largest recent research into how asylum-seeking women in the UK who are made destitute survive (with no access to statutory housing, financial support or right to work).

PLAN International's global report on girls and young women in modern slavery.

Examines the specialist advice services available to women in the greater Belfast area.

A leaflet prepared by HereNI discussing coming out to your friends and family.

Case for making misogyny an independent offence in Scotland

This policy brief by the UN Secretary-General explores how women and girls’ lives are changing in the face of COVID-19, and outlines suggested priority measures to accompany both the immediate response and longer-term recovery efforts.

This is the first report to study transphobic hate incidents in Northern Ireland, the effect such incidents have on trans individuals and the issues that might constrain trans persons from reporting such incidents to the PSNI. The core focus of the report has been to give a voice to the views, opinions and experiences of trans individuals in relation to hate crime and the way in which experiencing a transphobic incident impacts one‟s perception of safety and also one‟s emotional, physical and psychological well-being.

Captures a snapshot of women's perceptions of the demand for and the actual/potential role of community-based women-only advice in the context of ongoing austerity and associated poverty.

How a culture of stigma and silence have turned periods into a hidden public health issue.

The future is digital and girls must be in it, but harassment online and a lack of rights is driving them away.

Plan from the Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women.

The National Women's Council of Ireland's manifesto for the 2019 European elections.

Examines the impact of austerity in the housing sector across EU member states.
 

Summarises research on the impact of austerity on lone parents’ everyday lives.

Explores the impact of welfare reform on Northern Ireland, including on pre-existing poverty.

A report by leading academic Professor Sylvia Walby, UNESCO Chair in Gender Research, and Jude Towers at Lancaster University, raises concern about the implications of public expenditure reductions for the provision of local violence against women services.

Considers the cumulative impact of spending cuts and other austerity initiatives on vulnerable groups of women in Liverpool.

Examines the projected cumulative impact of tax and benefit reforms on Northern Ireland households.

Explores the gender impact of cuts to jobs, services and welfare.

Examines the impact on household income distribution in the United Kingdom of recent tax, tax credit and benefit reform.

An assessment of the cumulative impact on single mothers of 2010-15 tax and benefit reforms.

A report by the Women's Budget Group looking at how sspects of the social security system undermine the UK Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill.

Explores the impact of austerity on the everyday lives of families in the United Kingdom.

Explores how the social housing sector might ‘address poverty and help prevent tenants from moving into problematic debt and rent arrears’, in the context of welfare reform and wider austerity.

Article by the Trussell Trust looking at how Universal Credit can make it harder for women to leave abusive relationships.

The ‘Call to Action: Now and the Future, COVID-19 and Gender Equality, Global Peace and Security’ paper from GAPSUK addresses the deeply gendered impact of COVID-19.

An analysis of the effectiveness of women's participation in the NI peace process.

Assesses how far the promises of the Belfast Agreement have been achieved in providing the necessary resources to meet the needs of victims and places women within the context of the victims sector.

Think Tank article about the challenge to traditional politics by young feminists.

Looks at the key instruments, initiatives and activities related to UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, with particular focus on Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

This peace monitor report, the fifth in a series of monitors, highlights the challenges facing our peace and political processes in the honest and comprehensive way that is needed for all people who can influence for the better going forward. The challenges are significant, and overcoming them will be more exhausting still because they exist in a political vacuum.

A report by the Fawcett Society looking at how women's inclusion in devolved structures could be improved.

The Women’s Resource and Development Agency carried out this research to give voice to women in North Belfast, by capturing their lived experiences and how they individually, their families, their communities, and in turn, their geographical and cultural relationships have been affected.

This paper is a summary report on the findings and recommendations of the Reclaiming the Bonfires project.

This article focuses on the role of women in the negotiations leading to Colombia’s peace agreement, recognized as history’s most inclusive peace deal internationally.

The study is based on global desk research and case study focus on Bangladesh, Jordan, Nigeria, and Somalia (including field visits to Somalia and Bangladesh), and ascertains existing funding flows—and the impact of any shortfall—to GEEWG in humanitarian action, including the levels of funding requested, funding received, and the consequences of the funding gap.

Supported by a bursary from NI-CO, the TWN Policy and Research Officer went to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5-9 November 2007 to make connections with organisations working in the area of gender equality and to investigate comparisons between the post-conflict contexts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland in terms of women’s empowerment.

University of Wisconsin paper looking at potential feminist responses to climate change

In May 2020 the Women's Regional Consortium conducted a survey to collect evidence on the impact of Covid-19 and the resulting 'lockdown' on women's groups and organisations. 

Identifies the social and economic development activities and good practice in the work of eight women’s centres.

Report on women's opinions about Brexit. The report also looks at the possible gendered impacts of Brexit.

A summary of the work of the Women's Resource and Development Agency in Nov/Dec

Asks whether money is a cause of fundamental differences in children’s outcomes.

A summary of the larger report 'Brexit: Women's Perspectives'. This summary looks at the major concerns women have regarding Brexit and lays out the WRC's recommendations for mitigation.

Summarises findings of SROI pilot projects on programmes in Belfast women’s centres and WINI.

Critically evaluates recent government delivery on children’s rights.

A round up of the work of the Women's Resource and Development Agency in August

Outlines strategies for equality bodies to enable lesbian, gay and bisexual people to secure their rights under equality law.

WRDA's response to DSD consultation "Charities (Accounts & Reports) Regulations 2015", October 2015

The loss of jobs in sectors dominated by women will have a devastating impact of families, especially those headed by single mothers or where women are the primary or co-breadwinner. One in two of more than 30 million families in the U.S. with children under the age of 18 have a breadwinner mother, who contributes at least 40 percent of the earnings to the household.

Report by the Muslim Women's Network UK into how Muslim women can be included equally in recruitment. 

Offers a brief history of women’s contribution to Belfast, with individual biographies of notable women.

explores the potential impact of Brexit on low-income households

A gender audit of the manifestos of the main parties for the 2019 General Election

Based on preliminary data collection, surveys and meetings that UN Women had with more than 30 women-led organizations and woman leaders in the West Bank and Gaza, the report warns that the pandemic is expected to disproportionately affect women, create and exacerbate pre-existing gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities and widen inequalities.

Women’s Aid NI is committed to being the best we can be for children and young people – we believe they deserve the best. We want to provide a safe place for every child and young person who uses our services, a place where they can get support without stigma. We want to provide high quality services, informed by children and young people that effectively respond to and meet their needs. We want the experience of Women’s Aid NI to be positive, supportive and one they will remember for the rest of their lives. We are also committed to creating social change and to empowering and supporting everyone to play their role to make a difference for all children and young people, because our belief is that everyone can do something.

A women's Manifesto for the 2019 General Election

Relays women’s experiences of community service placements in three women’s centres in Northern Ireland.

A summary of the latest predictions regarding the impact of Brexit on NI.

Blog post from SafeLives exploring disabled women's experience of domestic violence.

A series of demands on gender equality issues, directed at local descision makers. Issues covered include childcare, education, equality law and violence against women.

Penal practices in Northern Ireland are fashioned around the legacy of civil unrest and the imprisonment of politically affiliated prisoners. Women represent a small percentage of the prison population, and most are sentenced for minor ‘offences’, including non-payment of fines. Women exiting prison share histories of severe social exclusion and complex unmet needs in relation to housing, employment, income, education, training, and mental and physical health. Recently,the introduction of a strategy for the management of women who offend, gender specific standards for working with women prisoners and the establishment of the probation-led Inspire Women’s Project, have marked an acknowledgement of women’s penality by the Department of Justice. This paper draws upon primary qualitative research data on women’s resettlement experience in Northern Ireland to consider the correlation between gender responsive measures and the increasing criminalisation and imprisonment of severely disadvantaged and marginalised women. It explores the failure of gender responsive initiatives to reduce the Northern Ireland female prison population, it examines professional discourse which privileges the responsibilisation of women and the language of choice and reflects upon the up-tariffing of women on the basis of their unmet need rather than the seriousness of their offending.

considers how Brexit might potentially threaten working women’s rights.

critically examines the different ways in which Brexit may potentially impact the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland adversely, proposing corrective action to help address same.