With all the talk about pensions in the news, it’s worth taking a look at what it all means for women.

Gordon Brown has said he is 90-95% behind the Turner Commission proposals for reform. The Independent reports:

The Government will reject Lord Turner’s proposal to base women’s pension rights on how long they have lived in the UK. Instead, women would qualify for a pension after a reduced period of paying national insurance.

This is an attempt to counteract the negative effects of a pensions system designed with old fashioned ideas about male breadwinners and female dependents in mind.

And the effects are still being felt:

According to a recent report by the Department for Work and Pensions, only 30% of women retiring today are entitled to a full basic State Pension and only 24% have this entitlement on the basis of their own contributions.

Whatever the Government does, it is clear that today’s working women need to better prepare ourselves. The Campaign for Learning is running a competition to help raise awareness - it could be a good place to start.

So much for reality. A dizzying array of actors have been lining up to play Wonder Woman in the upcoming film. It is to be directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity) and the latest news is that Kate Beckinsale is favourite to win the part. Will it happen? Who knows. I just hope the film turns out to be any good.

Posted by Jess McCabe on 5 April 2006, at 10:57 PM