I was exiting a Tube station in central London, and the station was relatively quiet. As I approached the exit gate, a young woman behind me asked if I could open the wider gate, pointing to the credit card in my hand. For a moment, I froze, surprised by the audacity of the request.

My first maternal instinct—and the teacher in me—was to tell her that what she was asking was inappropriate.

But I didn’t. She looked uncomfortable asking, and I felt empathy for her. From my research, I know how difficult life has become for many people in London. In-work poverty is a growing reality. She probably did not need a lecture at that moment, especially as she seemed to be on her way to work.

So I opened the gate, and she quietly walked behind me.

As I left the station, I felt a deep sense of sadness. Why, in a rich and developed country, are young people left to do such things just to get by?

Later, as I resumed writing my research on inequality and in-work poverty, I wondered how many of the statistics I analyse every day are stories like the one I had encountered at the ticket gate. Moments like this remind me that what is often framed as a personal failure may actually reflect something much larger: a systemic failure in governance, and in the social responsibility of corporations, institutions, and governments.

About the author
Fardous Bahbouh is a Researcher and Consultant specializing in Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry.