Tax justice is gender justice

By Chloe Bukata, Communications and Engagement Lead, Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland.

Tax Justice Scotland is seeking to promote a better conversation on tax policy. As such, the views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Tax Justice Scotland and its diverse supporters.

New analysis of responses to WEAll Scotland’s  Sharing Our Wealth survey reveals consistent gender differences in attitudes to wealth, inequality and taxation. Women were more likely than men to support taxing wealth more fairly, funding public services properly, and tackling inequality through collective action.

These differences were not huge in isolation. But together they paint a consistent  picture.

At a time when Scotland faces growing pressures on childcare, social care, local services and household budgets, this research reminds us that tax policy is not just about economics. It is also about gender equality.

Wealth inequality has a gender dimension

The research found that women reported lower levels of household wealth than men, especially at the top end of the wealth scale.

That reflects wider structural inequalities in our economy. Women are more likely to work part-time, earn lower wages, take on unpaid caring responsibilities, and build up less pension wealth over their lifetime.

Meanwhile, men are more likely to hold significant assets, including property and financial wealth.

This matters because when wealth is lightly taxed, those who already hold the most wealth benefit the most. In practice, that means the current tax system disproportionately advantages men.

At the same time, women are more likely to depend on the very public services that have faced years of underinvestment.

Childcare, local transport, social care and community services are not abstract policy areas. They are part of the everyday infrastructure that allows people,  especially women,  to participate in work, care for family members, and live securely.

Women are more concerned about inequality

The survey also found women were more likely to believe wealth inequality in Scotland is too large and harmful.

Women were also more likely to see wealth as shaped by structural factors such as luck, inheritance and circumstance, rather than simply hard work alone.

Public debates around taxation often focus narrowly on individual success and personal responsibility. But many people understand that wealth accumulation is also shaped by systems, opportunities and unequal starting points.

Women’s responses suggest a stronger recognition that inequality is built into the economy,  and that governments have a responsibility to address it.

The research also found women placed greater responsibility on local authorities and employers to help tackle inequality, perhaps reflecting women’s closer experience of workplace inequality and local public services.

Support for taxing wealth is strong

Perhaps the clearest finding was women’s stronger support for progressive taxation.

Women were more likely than men to support higher taxes on wealthy households and more likely to support tax increases if the money was used to fund public services.

Support for some proposals was overwhelming. A tax on private jets, for example, received support from 93% of women surveyed, 10% more than the support it received from men

Crucially, women’s support helped drive majority backing overall for progressive tax reform. Without women’s stronger support, public backing for fairer taxation would have been significantly weaker.

This challenges the idea that calls for wealth taxes are politically unrealistic. In reality, support for fairer taxation already exists,  especially among people who experience the consequences of inequality most directly.

Tax justice is gender justice

Too often, tax debates are treated as technical or disconnected from everyday life.

But decisions about who is taxed, what is funded, and which services are protected shape people’s lives.

When public services are cut, unpaid care work does not disappear. It is absorbed by families, and overwhelmingly by women. When wealth remains undertaxed, existing inequalities deepen.

That is why tax justice and gender equality cannot be separated.

Fairer taxation of wealth could help fund the services communities rely on while also reducing inequalities in wealth and power. Our research finds that across the board, people in Scotland support it. Even if women are more supportive, support among men is still robust. Just as importantly, governments should apply stronger gender analysis to tax and spending decisions so policymakers fully understand who benefits,  and who bears the cost,  of the status quo.

The findings from this research are clear: women are not only more concerned about wealth inequality, they are also more supportive of collective solutions to address it.

As debates about tax and public spending continue, women’s perspectives on inequality deserve far greater attention.