Living Wage and Social Enterprise Can Lift People Out of Poverty
Paying the real Living Wage and encouraging more social entrepreneurs could greatly reduce poverty, according to Social Enterprise Scotland.
The Living Wage Foundation and the Fawcett Society have been highlighting the issue of low paid women on International Women’s Day.
Duncan Thorp of Social Enterprise Scotland said:
“There are different ways to tackle poverty and lift low paid women and other excluded people out of debt.
“Encouraging more employers to pay the real Living Wage and getting those on low incomes to bank with credit unions are two key solutions.
“We must also reclaim the language of ‘wealth creation’ and massively increase the number of social entrepreneurs in the poorest neighbourhoods.
“This is how we harness the huge untapped skills of those living in poverty and build an economy that benefits everyone.”
According to the Social Enterprise Census 2017, 64% of social enterprises are led by women, compared to around 7% for FTSE 100 companies.
72% of Scottish social enterprises pay employees at or above the real Living Wage. The average gap between highest and lowest paid is just 1 to 2.5.
END
Notes:
1 Employers urged to pay real living wage as study shows women’s finance concerns: www.heraldscotland.com/news/16072908.Employers_urged_to_pay_real_living_wage_as_study_shows_women___s_finance_concerns/#comments-anchor
2 What is Social Enterprise? Social enterprise is a dynamic and inspiring way of doing business. Social enterprises are innovative, independent businesses that exist specifically for social and/or environmental purposes. Read more here: www.socialenterprise.scot/our-story/what-is-social-enterprise