Discrimination and distribution of income news resources

If you are nearing the end of an A2 microeconomics syllabus and looking for current resources to help with issues of distribution of income and discrimination, the BBC came up with a couple of helpful items yesterday.

The Panorama programme commissioned a study which has found that real take-home pay has fallen by 5% since the start of the recession, and looks at the impact that is having on household budgets as well as confidence. There is also some analysis of the potential effects on those households if base rates were to rise; while many households are still coping because of their cheap mortgage interest, many will find it hard to copy if their monthly payments were to rise later this year.

There is a written article about the survey and its findings here, and a link to the 30-minute programme on i-player here.

On a more positive note, the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year has just been awarded to Michelle McDowell, chair of the construction firm BDP.

As a Civil Engineer,one of the reasons that Ms McDowell won the award was for promoting engineering as a career for all. She says she has had to work hard to promote engineering for women and women within engineering. “Women are scarce, perhaps it’s the image of construction - dirty, muddy boots; an unreconstructed working environment. But now the image is transforming, even on site.”

I heard the story as she was interviewed on the Today programme on Radio 4 yesterday - you can find the link from which to download a podcast (Business News with Adam Shaw, Monday 28 March) - but if you want students to investigate discrimination and gender equality a bit further, try this BBC page called Women in the Workplace which has a vast number of links and resources available, about workplaces in the UK and worldwide.