Burnham Urged to Revise UK Industrial Strategy as 0 Local Authorities Reach Gender Parity
Updated
Updated · kcl.ac.uk · Jul 24
Burnham Urged to Revise UK Industrial Strategy as 0 Local Authorities Reach Gender Parity
3 articles · Updated · kcl.ac.uk · Jul 24
Summary
No UK local authority has reached gender parity, and researchers say Prime Minister Andy Burnham should rewrite the 2025 Modern Industrial Strategy to target both gender and regional inequality.
Eight priority sectors in the current plan are concentrated in London and the South East and remain heavily male-dominated; women account for about 28% of manufacturing jobs, under 17% in engineering and technology, and 20% of IT professionals.
Greater Manchester illustrates the problem: it holds just 3.8% of IS-8 jobs, while even flagship sectors such as creative industries often offer precarious work, with freelance median pay at £12.23 an hour and a 37% gender pay gap.
Researchers argue Burnham should shift investment toward the foundational economy—care, retail, education and hospitality—which employs more than 40% of the UK workforce; health and social care alone employ about 5 million people.
That approach would build on Burnham's Greater Manchester record, where a Good Employment Charter launched in 2020 has drawn more than 160 organisations, and could turn his promise of 'good growth in every postcode' into national policy.