Analysis published by TUC reveals that women are seven times more likely than men to be out of work due to caring commitments, which includes caring for children and/or elderly or unwell relatives.
It finds that women in their 30s are hardest hit, with one in ten women (more than 450,000) in this age group having to drop out of the jobs market because of the pressures of looking after their family.
To address the gender pay gap and keep women in work, the union body is calling for funded childcare and flexible working rights for all.
The TUC analysis also finds that women are much more likely than men to be working in low-paid jobs, and are far less likely to be in high-paid work.
Women make up two thirds (65 per cent) of the ten lowest paid occupations in the UK, but less than two in five (39 per cent) are working in the ten highest paid occupations within industries like finance, law and IT.
Previous research by the union body has highlighted the gender pay gap and lack of flexible working opportunities for mothers.
The TUC is calling on ministers to ‘act now’ to keep women in work, make sure they are paid fairly and to properly address the gender pay gap. It wants the Government to:
- Introduce funded, high-quality childcare, available to all, free at the point of use. This would begin when paid maternity leave ends.
- Create greater flexibility in all jobs with a duty on employers to list the possible flexible working options for each job when it is advertised. Also, make sure there are no limits on how many times per year a worker can ask for flexible working arrangements, and to provide all workers with the right to appeal any requests that have been denied.
- Strengthen gender pay gap reporting.
‘Too many women take a financial hit from caring for the rest of their lives,’
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said, ‘Women shouldn’t have to give up or cut down paid work because they can’t find or afford the right care for their children or older or disabled relatives.
‘Too many women take a financial hit from caring for the rest of their lives – and it is a key driver of the gender pay gap. At the current rate of progress, it will be 20 years before women get pay parity with men.
‘We desperately need funded high-quality childcare for all families, free at the point of use, so women can stay in work once they have kids.’
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA, commented, ‘Not only is it in the interests of all children for them to receive high quality early education and care to achieve the best outcomes, but if the Government invested sufficiently in childcare, it would enable thousands of parents to join the workforce and boost the economy.
'The Government must make early education a priority in the Spring Budget for investment.’