Poverty and
Inequality
Poverty can limit a young person's ability to access education, employment, training and opportunities that could help them build a better future.
Why it matters
When young people are not given meaningful opportunities or support, poverty can become a cycle that is difficult to break. Young people should not be defined by their financial circumstances or stereotyped because they experience poverty. Decision-makers need to understand the realities of poverty and work directly with the communities affected by it.
The issues
Young people across the nations identified poverty as an issue affecting opportunities, independence and quality of life. The cost-of-living crisis is placing increasing pressure on individuals and families, while the current minimum wage is not always enough to provide a liveable income.
Young people also highlighted a lack of understanding of the realities of poverty among decision-makers, as well as the misrepresentation of people experiencing poverty. They felt that poverty is too often treated as an inevitability, rather than something that can be challenged through meaningful investment, opportunities and support.
What young people said?
Young people across nations identified:
The cost-of-living crisis
A lack of understanding of the realities of poverty
A lack of opportunities to help young people move out of poverty
The current minimum wage not being a liveable wage
Misrepresentation of people experiencing poverty
Opportunities being offered mainly to ‘easy to reach’ young people
Decision-makers being unwilling to learn from and consult communities most impacted by poverty
Young people also shared what helps:
Financial support, including grants, to promote education and training
Greater youth influence in government
A focus on rural and disadvantaged communities
Investment in life and employment skills education
Support for youth work projects
What we want decision makers to do
- Make work pay – ensure that minimum wages and employment opportunities provide young people with a liveable income and a genuine route towards financial independence.
- Invest in opportunities that challenge poverty – provide grants and financial support that enable young people to access education, training and opportunities that can improve their future prospects.
- Reach the young people who need support most – ensure programmes and opportunities are accessible to young people in rural, disadvantaged and harder-to-reach communities, rather than repeatedly engaging the same groups.
- Listen to communities experiencing poverty – decision-makers should actively consult with and learn from the people and communities most affected by poverty when developing policies and solutions.
- Give young people a meaningful influence in government – create opportunities for young people experiencing poverty to directly shape the policies and decisions affecting their lives.
- Invest in youth work and life and employment skills – recognise the role youth work can play in building confidence, skills, connections and opportunities that help young people create a pathway out of poverty.
- Challenge stigma and misrepresentation – change the way poverty is talked about and represented, recognising the structural causes of poverty rather than blaming individuals for their circumstances.
Action plan
Young people experiencing poverty have access to education, training and opportunities that can help improve their future.
Rural and disadvantaged communities receive meaningful investment and support.
Young people experiencing poverty have a meaningful voice in government and decisions that affect them.
Poverty is understood as a structural issue, not a personal failure, and young people are not defined or judged by their financial circumstances.
Young people have genuine opportunities to build secure, independent futures regardless of their background or financial circumstances.
Contact
For more information contact: holly@youthaction.org
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