Women in multiple low-paid employment: pathways between work, care and health

This project will be the first to study the nature and extent of women’s multiple low-paid employment (MLPE) in the UK. It will examine the relationships between MLPE, caring responsibilities and health and well-being.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLPE affected approximately 1 in 20 employed women in the UK and was increasing in prevalence. While having multiple jobs is a route out of poverty for men, for women the poverty rate does not fall with multiple jobs. MLPE is typically low-status and ‘precarious’. It commonly involves extended working days, nonstandard employment hours, difficult commutes, physically and sometimes emotionally demanding labour, and a lack of protections and rights such as flexible working, sick pay and pensions. Older women are particularly affected, as they often balance work with caring for older family members as well as children and grandchildren. Without fundamental change to the labour market, these issues are likely to continue beyond the pandemic. This project will provide an overview of women and MLPE in the UK over the past three decades and will investigate the lived experiences of women in MLPE.

The study will take a mixed-methods approach, including analysis of three large-scale UK-representative survey datasets (the Family Resources Survey, the Labour Force Survey and Understanding Society) and qualitative analysis with women living in Glasgow. The first stage of quantitative analysis will describe the prevalence of MLPE across the UK and how this has changed over time for men and women. The researchers will use multiple regression to explore relationships between MLPE and key socio-demographic characteristics. The second stage of quantitative analysis will use an instrumental variable approach, considering variation in aggregate and local labour market conditions in the period around the 2008 financial crisis. An event-study design will be used to explore the effects of austerity between 2011 and 2013 on MLPE, including the regional-level roll-out of changes in Universal Credit. The third stage will investigate how changes in experience and duration of MLPE are associated with changes in women’s health and well-being, and the potential mediating effects of caring responsibilities and institutional support arrangements.

The researchers will carry out qualitative interviews with 75 women with experience of MLPE living in Glasgow, including women with and without caring responsibilities and of different ages. The interviews will explore how participating women came to be in MLPE; status changes over time; experiences of MLPE; sources of support; management of caring responsibilities; and women’s reflections on the health and well-being impacts of MLPE. A sub-sample (25) will be women who were previously in MLPE but their employment ended in one or more jobs because of COVID-19, and they now have a single job or are out of work.

The findings from this project will be used to identify lessons for public policy to support the health and wellbeing of women in MLPE. Key findings will be published in summary reports, academic articles and briefing papers for various audiences. The women who participated in the study will be invited to take part in public engagement activities, including an exhibition at Glasgow Women’s Library comprising photos, stories and personal journeys.