Nearly six out of ten women (58 per cent) say caring responsibilities have stopped them applying for promotion or a new job, and one in five (19 per cent) have left a job because it was too hard to balance work and care, according to wide-ranging research by Ipsos and Business in the Community (BITC).
Whilst 35 per cent of all adults, and 44 per cent per cent of working adults, have caring responsibilities, the research found that they are not spread equally. Women account for 85 per cent of sole carers for children and 65 per cent of sole carers for older adults. More people from ethnic minority backgrounds (42 per cent) have caring responsibilities than from white backgrounds.
Ipsos and BITC interviewed a representative sample of 5,444 people across the UK to better understand contemporary attitudes and experiences around combining paid work and care. Although 94 per cent agreed that caring responsibilities should be spread equally, 52 per cent of women who are joint carers say they do more than their fair share – with only 30 per cent of men admitting they do less.
Only 27 per cent of people believe men and women are treated equally in the workplace and one in five men (20 per cent) said caring had stopped them from applying for promotion or a new job, compared to the much higher percentage for women.
The impact of caring responsibilities on workplace progression is greatest on women, who are twice as likely than men to work part-time, and on lower-paid workers and shift workers, who find it more difficult to take time off during the day at short notice.
People from Black, Asian, Mixed Race or other ethnically diverse groups are disproportionately affected, with one in two (50 per cent) who have caring responsibilities saying they had been unable to pursue certain jobs or promotions because of this. One in three (32 per cent) have left or considered leaving a job due to a lack of flexibility, compared with around one in five (21 per cent) white people.
Despite the focus on more flexible working during the pandemic, more than 50 per cent of people would not feel comfortable asking to work flexibly when applying for a job and 43 per cent say there is still a stigma around the subject. More than one in three respondents (35 per cent) believe flexible working blocks career progression, with fewer than one in five (17 per cent) having asked their employer to work flexibly.
The research suggests that employers may not always share these attitudes – 80 per cent of people who made formal flexible working requests had them accepted.
Charlotte Woodworth, gender equality campaign director at BITC, said:
“Employers and policy makers need to understand that caring, for children and others, is a routine part of many people’s lives, and adjust working cultures to better support this. Otherwise, we will continue to see working carers, particularly women and people from Black, Asian, mixed race and other ethnically diverse backgrounds, pushed down and in some cases out of the workforce.
“Flexibility is key,” she added, “thinking not just about where work is done, but also when. We need to move past old fashioned ideas about 5 days a week, 9 – 5, in one location and support everyone to craft a better work life balance, that doesn’t see some people penalised because they can’t work in a certain way.”
