ARC GM | Projects

What were we trying to do?
We wanted to investigate – in detail – the inequalities faced by women living in the North of England.

Why was this important?
There have been many challenges over the last 15 years - the effects of austerity, the cost-of-living crisis, economic stagnation, the pandemic, and unequal funding formulas – which have increased inequalities for women in the North.

By increasing our knowledge of the inequalities faced by women in the North, we can make policy recommendations to regional and central government as well as the health system. These can then be used to create policies that will help to improve the situation for women living in the North of England, and the opportunities available to them.

How did we do it?
We used a range of data – from pre-existing research evidence, surveys, and databases – to find out about the situation for women in the North of England compared to the rest of the country. We looked in detail at several areas, as follows:

Employment and education
Poverty
Caring
Women’s health
Pregnancy and reproductive health
Sexual health
Mental health
Domestic violence
Marginalised women

Findings
Below are key findings from the report ‘Women of the North: Inequality, health and work’:

Employment and education

Employment rates for women are lower in the North (69.8% in the North East, 79.8% in Yorkshire & Humber, 71.2% in the North West) compared to the national average employment rate for women of 72.2%.
Rates of economic inactivity are higher among women in the North than the rest of England.
Rates of long-term sickness and disability in the North are higher than the rest of England and this contributes to the higher levels of economic inactivity. The estimated cost per year of the higher number of women not working in the North is £0.4 billion.
Women in the North earn less in wages than women elsewhere in England – and this gap in wages is increasing.
Only 6.1% of women in the North East are Managers, Directors, or Senior Officials, compared to the national average of 8.5% and the London average of 10.9%.
The number of women with no qualifications is 19.1% nationwide, but 22.3% in the North East, 22% in Yorkshire and Humber, and 20.6% in the North West.

Poverty

The North East has the highest rate of Universal Credit (UC) health claims by women compared to all other regions of England.
More families in the North are on UC (ranging from 18.27% to 19.67%) compared to regions in the South (ranging from 14.68% to 17.17%)
All 12 Local Authorities in the North East have higher levels of child poverty than in other parts of England.
The North East has the second highest rate of poverty in England (25.4%) , with the North West (22.7%) and Yorkshire and Humber (23.3%) not far behind.

Caring

12% of women in the North East, 11.2% of women in the North West, and 10.7% of women in Yorkshire and Humber provide unpaid care. This is higher than the national average of 10.3%.
Overall, it’s estimated that £57bn of care is provided by unpaid carers in England each year. Women in the North provide an estimated £10bn of this care.
Women in the North – especially in the North East – are most likely to provide 50+ hours of unpaid care per week.
The North East and North West have higher-than-average rates of young carers aged 5-24.
1 in 5 women aged 55-59 provides care to a family member.

Women’s health

Life expectancy for girls born in deprived parts of the North of England is no longer increasing, and in some cases is decreasing.
Girls born in the North can expect to live fewer healthy years than their counterparts in other areas of England. The average in the South East is 65.9 healthy years, compared to the North East (59.7) the North West (62.4), and Yorkshire & Humber (62.1).
In all parts of the North, fewer women reported ‘good’ or ‘very good’ health than other regions. They were also more likely to report long-term illness and conditions that limit day-to-day activities.
There are lower levels of HRT prescribed to women in the North compared to other parts of England.

Pregnancy and reproductive health

The North had the biggest increases in abortion rates between 2012 and 2021.
Stillbirths are highest in the most deprived communities, and in Black and Asian women compared to white women.
The highest rates of preterm delivery are in the North West of England, followed by the Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire, and London.
Women living in deprived places are at increased risk of death and depression. Babies of women in these areas are at a higher risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, pre-term delivery and low birth weight.
Obesity during pregnancy is highest in the North East (27.1%) and Yorkshire & Humber (25.6%).
The North East and Yorkshire have the highest levels of pregnant women who are smokers (17.7%) when attending their booking appointment.
The North East and Yorkshire has the highest rates of pregnancy in women under 20 – 4.9% compared to the national average of 3.2%.

Sexual health

In the North, public health budgets have been cut by 15% more per-person than in England overall. The worst-affected is the North East, with a per-person reduction of £23.24.
Spending on sexual health clinics in the North has reduced by 26-28% in the last decade.
The North has some of the highest contraception prescribing rates in the country.
Emergency hormonal contraception was prescribed less frequently in the North, which could reflect better access to contraception in this part of the country.
The repeat abortion rate was highest in the North West in 2021, with 3 of the top 5 regions being in the North.
The highest levels of recorded sexual offences in 2021/22 were recorded in the North of England.

Mental health

There was a higher proportion of women in the North experiencing mental illness (between 2008 and 2018) than elsewhere in England.
There are higher rates of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in the North West and North East than in the South and Yorkshire & Humber.
Less women with a diagnosis of mental illness were receiving treatment in the North West and North East.
Referral rates into Talking Therapies services were higher in the North West, and the North East and Yorkshire than in the South West, South East and London.

Domestic violence

Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) disproportionately affects women living in the North of England.
Rates of DVA are highest in the North East (19 per 1,000 people), Yorkshire and the Humber (17 per 1,000 people) and the North West (15 per 1,000 people).
Many children in the North are exposed to DVA. Rates are higher for people living in single-parent households with one or more children than in no-children households.

Marginalised women

This report was unable to paint a complete picture of how living environments (geography, deprivation etc) affect health outcomes for marginalised northern women, as there is a lack of health data about these women. We need more research to understand the health problems faced by marginalised women living in the North.

For more findings, and the full policy recommendations, read the report at: Women of the North: Inequality, health and work.

Who did we work with?

Funding information
This report is a joint piece of work between the Northern Health Science Alliance’s Health Equity North and academics from the Northern NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs; North East and North Cumbria [reference NHIR200173], Greater Manchester [reference NIHR200174], North West Coast [reference NIHR200182], Yorkshire and Humber [reference NIHR200166], NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre [reference NIHR203309] and the NIHR School of Public Health Research [reference PD-SPH-2015].

More information

Senior Programme Lead
Mike Spence
Mike.spence@healthinnovationmanchester.com

Woman of the North: Inequality, health and work