Most work done by women globally ‘is unpaid’, Oxfam says
Most of the work done by women around the world is unpaid, according to a new Oxfam report.
The charity estimates around 65% of women’s working hours are not remunerated and said official statistics should be changed to recognise their contribution.
Oxfam said its analysis of international labour data also found that 45% of weekly work done by both men and women globally was unpaid care.
It said domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning, which are often carried out by women globally, are also not valued in economic figures and measures such as GDP (gross domestic product).
Oxfam described the measurement as “anti-feminist and colonial because it sustains a framework of value creation and productivity that only counts what can be monetised”.
“Women are rendered to the ‘private’ sphere and their work is invisible,” the charity added.
It comes after separate research earlier this year found that the value of unpaid care in England and Wales is almost equivalent to a second NHS, with workers saving the government £162bn per year in wages.
Many women, such as this rice field worker in Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam, juggle childcare with other work. Pic: AP
Another study by the Centre for Progressive Policy thinktank also found women in the UK provided more than twice as much unpaid childcare per year as men – 23.2 billion hours compared with 9.7 billion hours.
Oxfam report author Anam Parvez accused governments of being “fixated” on GDP, and said policies should instead be “guided by a set of metrics that look at the whole picture”.
She added: “Women are being short-changed the world over, pushed deeper into time and income poverty.
“To add insult to injury, the majority of their work is ignored by official statistics. Unpaid care is a hidden subsidy to the global economy; without it the system would collapse.”
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The UK government said traditional economic measures, such as GDP, remained some of the most useful indicators of economic performance, but acknowledged it had limitations.
A spokesperson said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been provided with an additional £25m to improve economic statistics.
The agency has said it is “working on radical plans to go ‘beyond GDP'”, including “new and innovative metrics reflecting the impact of economic change on people and the environment”.
The US central bank has cut interest rates for the first time this year, in a move president Donald Trump will likely declare is long overdue.
Mr Trump has demanded cuts to borrowing costs from the Federal Reserve ever since worries emerged in the world’s largest economy that his trade war would stoke US inflation.
The president – currently in the UK on a state visit – has, on several occasions, threatened to fire the Fed chair Jay Powell and moved to place his own supporters on the bank’s voting panel.
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He was yet to comment on the rate decision.
The fallout from the row has resonated globally, sparking worries about central bank independence. Financial markets have also reflected those concerns.
The bank, which has a dual mandate to keep inflation steady and maintain maximum employment, made its move on Wednesday after a major slowdown in the employment market that has seen hiring ease sharply.
The latest economic indicators have shown caution over spending among both companies and consumers alike.
The Fed said the economy had moderated.
Inflation, while somewhat elevated due to the effects of higher import costs from the trade war, has not taken off as badly as some economists, and the Fed, had initially feared.
Mr Trump has sought to fire Fed rate-setter Lisa Cook. File pic: AP
Its 12-member panel backed a quarter point reduction in the Fed funds rate to a new range of between 4% to 4.25%.
The effective interest rate is in the middle of that range.
Crucially for Mr Trump, who is trying to inspire growth in the economy, the Fed signalled more reductions ahead despite continued concern over inflation.
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Financial markets saw a further two quarter point rate cuts before the year’s end.
The dollar, which has weakened in recent days on the back of expectations of further rate cuts, fell in the wake of the decision and the Fed’s statement.
It was trading down against both the euro and pound. Sterling was almost half a cent up at $1.17.
This Fed meeting was the first with new Trump appointee Stephen Miran on the voting panel.
He was chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers before being handed the role this week.
His was a sole voice in the voting for a half percentage point cut. It is clear, though the identity of participants’ forecasts are not revealed, he was the lone voice in calling for a further five quarter point reductions this year.
Mr Trump has sought to fire a member of the Fed’s board, Lisa Cook, to bolster his position further but that decision is currently subject to a legal challenge.
Some of the biggest US technology companies have pledged billions of pounds of investment to turbocharge Britain’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, as the two countries announce a landmark technology deal.
Nvidia, Microsoft, Open AI and Google made a flurry of announcements to coincide with President Trump‘s state visit to the UK.
They include plans to build data centres and invest in AI research and engineering.
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Sir Keir Starmer described the agreement, which both leaders will sign over the coming days, as “a generational step change” in Britain’s relationship with the US.
The deal will see both countries cooperate on AI, quantum computing and nuclear energy, with investment in modular reactors revealed earlier this week.
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The prime minister said it was “shaping the futures of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, and delivering growth, security and opportunity up and down the country”.
The government said the deal would deliver thousands of jobs, with a new AI Growth Zone in the North East of England earmarked for 5,000 jobs.
The region will host a new data centre developed in partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI, the US chip giant Nvidia and the British data centre company Nscale. The UK government will supply energy for the project, which will be based in Blyth.
Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, who has previously drawn attention to Britain’s inadequate levels of digital infrastructure, said: “Today marks a historic chapter in US-United Kingdom technology collaboration.
“We are at the Big Bang of the AI era – and the United Kingdom stands in a Goldilocks position, where world-class talent, research and industry converge.”
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. Pic: Reuters
The Blyth data centre is part of Stargate, Open AI’s infrastructure project to build large data centres across the US.
The company has also developed sites in Norway and the UAE. Nvidia, which provides the graphic processing chips (GPUs), expects to generate $20bn (£14.6bn) by the end of this year from “sovereign” deals with national governments over the coming years.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, said: “The UK has been a longstanding pioneer of AI, and is now home to world-class researchers, millions of ChatGPT users and a government that quickly recognised the potential of this technology.
“Stargate UK builds on this foundation to help accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve productivity, and drive economic growth.”
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Microsoft also pledged £22bn, its largest ever investment in the UK, to expand data centres and construct the country’s largest AI supercomputer.
Meanwhile, Google owner Alphabet pledged £5bn to expand its data centres in Hertfordshire and fund its London-based subsidiary DeepMind, which uses AI to power cutting edge scientific research. The company was founded in Britain and acquired by Google in 2014.
Other investments include £1.5bn from AI cloud computing company CoreWeave and £1.4bn from Salesforce.
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