January 29, 2010
LONDON (AFP) - The gap between rich and poor in Britain is the largest for 40 years, a government report said Wednesday, with "significant" differences between men and women -- and among ethnic minority groups.
A National Equality Panel found that "deep seated" differences remained between social groups, even though some of the widest gaps had narrowed in the last decade, such as the difference between men's and women's wages.
The report will be studied intensely with a general election just months away.
The panel's chairman, Professor John Hills, said: "Most people and nearly all political parties subscribe to the ideal of equality of opportunity.
"But advantage and disadvantage reinforce themselves over the life cycle. It is hard to argue that the large and systematic differences in outcomes which we document result from personal choices made against a background of equality of opportunity, however that is defined."
Women up to the age of 44 had better qualifications than men, but hourly pay for women was 21 percent lower, according to the study.
People from ethnic minorities also appear to suffer discrimination, with the report showing that those from nearly every minority group are less likely to be in paid work than white British men and women.
Inequality in earnings and income was higher in Britain than in many other industrialised countries, the findings also showed.
Huge differences were identified in the wealth of older people, with one in 10 households aged 55 to 64 having houses, pension rights and other money worth less than 28,000 pounds (45,500 dollars, 32,000 euros) while a tenth had more than 1.3 million pounds.
The panel identified a number of areas, ranging from education and pensions to taxes and rebuilding community services, where it said political intervention was required to tackle inequalities.
Equalities minister Harriet Harman argued that the government had made progress, especially in tackling poverty "and halting the rise of inequality that dates back to the 1980s."
"But we will do more to increase social mobility and tackle the barriers that hold people back unfairly," she said.
The chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, Martin Narey, said: "This report shows just how much family income matters in determining children's life chances.
"Politicians must break the cycle of disadvantage for the millions of poor children who live in the UK today, otherwise generations of increasing suffering lie ahead of us."
