Women bear brunt of austerity

Women make up more than two thirds of local government workers who have lost their jobs since the 2010 General Election, research has shown.

A GMB union study showed that in 36 councils in England and Wales all the job losses were among females.

Of the 210,000 jobs lost in the sector since 2010, more than 68 per cent were among women, ranging from 75 per cent in the South East and 72 per cent in the east of England, to 60 per cent in London and 57 per cent in the East Midlands, the report showed.