Women’s economic activity: the impact of life-stage and

qualifications

Angela Dale and Sameera Ahmed

University of Manchester

We are grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for funding this research – and this conference

Women’s economic activity

• We usually only see the headline figures for different ethnic groups

• However, we know well that life-stage and level of qualifications have a big impact in women’s employment –

• started by the Women and Employment Survey in 1980

• But can we assume that patterns for white women are similar across different ethnic groups?

Data & definitions

• Labour Force Survey for 1992-2003/5• Women aged 19-60; FT students excluded• Economic activity= in work + ILO

unemployed• Unemployment = not working, looking for

work and able to startFocus on Pakistani and Bangladeshi women

but also some information on White, Black Caribbean, Indian and Chinese women

Level of economic activity, women aged 19-60, 2001-5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

white Black C Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese

Economic activity, women aged 19-34, no child, no partner, 1992-2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

white Black C Indian P/B Chinese

degree-level no qual

Economic activity, women with partner and youngest child <5, 1992-2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

white Black C Indian P/B Chinese

degree-level no qual

Pakistani and Bangladeshi women

much greater variation based on level of qualifications and life-stage than other ethnic groups:

• effect of being born & brought up overseas?

• preferences for caring for children?

• family constraints

• barriers in the labour market?

Born/brought up UK v came UK 16+• Single, 19-34, no children, no partner

• degree quals: 86% UK born/brought up• no quals: 60% UK born/brought uplevel of economic activity does not vary by where born

• Married with youngest child under 5• Degree quals: 71% UK born/brought up

UK B/B O/seas B&BEcon act: 61% 39%

No quals: 21% UK born/brought upUK B/B O/seas B&B

Econ. Act. 11% 5%

Increase in educational attainment

UK born/brought up Pakistani and Bangladeshi women with degree-level qualifications:

aged 21-34 20.5aged 35-49 17.1

Compares with white women: aged 21-34 24.6 aged 35-49 23.7

LFS: 1992-2005

Percentage of women unemployed (base: economically active, 20-59),

2001 Census , 3% sample, raw figures

05

1015202530354045

degree no qual

Over-employment

• Pakistani and Bangladeshi women with degree-level qualifications:– 36% employed but not in ‘graduate jobs’– 25% for white women

Difficult to make like-for-like comparisons

But interviews provided evidence of difficulties graduates faced in getting graduate level jobs

Interviews with UK born Pakistani and Bangladeshi women

• Interviews with 18 UK-born Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in Rochdale and Manchester

• Asked about employment aspirations and barriers to employment

• Major themes:– Importance of educational attainment– Qualifications and experience vital for

employment

Aspirations

• paid work played a significant role in all respondent’s ambitions in life– But some women wanted to work rather than needed

to work

Overall – I think…it’s not really important – it’s not like I ‘have’ to work. It’s just that I ‘want’ to. It’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do. I never wanted to work full-time in the first place, just part-time work. …I think it boosts my confidence.

Pakistani, 28, NVQ2, married with two children

Parental roles

• Parents were generally supportive of women’s ambitions to work– But also willing to provide financial support– Lack of parental pressure meant women could

wait to get the ‘right’ job

• Some parents with poor health expected daughters to provide care for them

Role of husband/ children

• Many respondents said husbands very supportive & encouraged them working

• But child-care often posed problems– Women relied on family members– Availability of affordable child-care not always

an issue

Finding the right job

• Lack of experience cited by many women

• Lack of knowledge about how the labour market works– availability jobs and training schemes;– guidance on how to apply for jobs – confidence about procedures once in

employment

Barriers

• Work-place cultural assumptions often centred around the white majority – hard for women from a different cultural background to

feel comfortable and to fit-in

• employers needed a better understanding of religious or cultural needs– eg replacing tea-breaks with prayer breaks– Family weddings, funerals posed some problems

• Wearing hijab or veil was seen as major barrier

Role of training schemes

• locally-based Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) schemes

• provided transitional employment for unemployed people – Help in gaining the skills and experience– access to individual support – counselling service – one-to-one job search skills development– aimed at minority ethnic groups