Singled Out: Single Parent Discrimination and What to Do About It

In this powerful exposé, single parent campaigner and policy expert Ruth Talbot weaves together statistics, real life stories and policy analysis to reveal the true extent of single parent discrimination in Britain today.

Drawing on new research, interviews and her own lived experience, Talbot demonstrates how single parent discrimination is widespread. She reveals how it shapes access to housing, employment, childcare and social security, driving poverty, social exclusion and poorer mental health. Talbot also highlights how mutual support and single parent activism is changing the narrative, building solidarity and securing change. She explores how organisations can – and must - embrace and support these movements.

Offering clear, practical recommendations for legal, regulatory and policy reform, including the long-overdue case for recognising single parents as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, this is essential reading for all those concerned with improving the lives of single parents and their children.