Over all, women remain one of the largest groups who experience poverty. Women now make up more than 50 per cent of the workforce. But growth in women's jobs has been in low paid, part-time and temporary work. Part-time work in Scotland grew by 39 per cent between 1981 and 1995. More than three quarters of part-time women workers are low paid.
Some groups are especially at risk of poverty.
The majority of lone parents and pensioners are women. Because of this, many women have interrupted work histories, and they often work in low paid jobs in order to cope with their family commitments. Consequently, many are denied access to national insurance and occupational benefits or pensions and are therefore more likely to experience poverty in later life. For those who cannot work because of family responsibilities, like lone parents, the situation is worse as they are generally entirely dependent on benefits. A recent study found that one in twenty mothers in Britain, largely lone mothers on income support, go without food to meet the needs of their children.