Invisible Women

People
ViewsFebruary 25th, 2013

The Bevan Foundation’s latest report, Women, Work and the Recession, solves the puzzle that has been exercising commentators for some time. The rise in employment has been described as “a riddle” in the Independent and as suggesting there is something “seriously wrong” with the labour market in the Telegraph.  How is it, they ask, that record employment sits alongside unemployment?

The answer is – women

Our research shows that employment is not at record levels because of a hidden boom, but because of the increase in state pension age for women. Rising at a rate of one month every two months, women today are retiring at 62 rather than 60.  Women who would have left the labour market at State Pension Age are  basically having to stay in work at least another two years.  It’s incredible that the invisibility of older women is so great that even leading analysts have missed the effect of the rise in retirement age.

The rise in older women’s employment also masks serious problems facing younger women.  In Wales, if we look at patterns of employment amongst people aged under 50, we see static employment for the 25-49s, and absolute calamity for 16-24 year olds whose employment has fallen by about 20 per cent in four years.

Women in low level occupations have been hit hardest

Our analysis also shows that women in low-level occupations – operatives, admin and secretarial jobs for example – have been hit hardest by the recession. Women in professional and managerial jobs have, in contrast, hardly been affected by the recession.

The recession is far from over

Even if GDP begins to recover, it is unlikely to benefit women in the labour market much, because so many – four out of ten – women work in the public sector.  Here we can see the number of jobs beginning to decrease – affecting both women and men – but with a disproportionate effect on women.

Unemployment is driven by welfare reform

And if this is not enough, it is clear that women are flooding into the labour market from Income Support, as lone parents are required to look for work when their youngest child is 5, and from incapacity benefits as claimants are found fit for work.  Many of these women have not worked for some time, if ever, and will need considerable help and support if they are find and keep a job. The Work Programme looks to be unlikely to help them with this based on current performance.

What to do?

Solutions don’t exactly jump off the shelf to solve these problems.  Most importantly, it’s clear that analysis of what’s happening in employment needs to take full account of gender differences. Women and men have had very different experiences of the recession and, in particular, it shouldn’t be assumed that rising employment means that the problems are solved.  But there are two things that must be done:

1.  Action to create jobs for young women and men – the collapse in youth employment – for both genders – is one of the most appalling consequences of the economic downturn.  The Welsh Government and local authorities can and must do more to help this age group to get and keep work.

2. Help for women to find work – all age groups and both genders are facing considerable challenges getting work, but for women coming onto the jobs market after years on benefits, for older women facing age discrimination and for women with children facing a double difficulty getting work, there needs to be additional support to find a job.

Last but by no means least, “helping people into work” is no help at all if there aren’t enough jobs. One group simply displaces other people. Getting the Welsh economy into growth mode must also be a priority.

Download the report here.

Read Western Mail coverage on the report here and listen to BBC Radio Wales coverage here.

Tagged with: Women

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