More women are working now than in the past, and women’s participation in the labour market is higher in the UK than average across the OECD. But women still earn less than men and are more likely than men to be in low-paid, insecure work. This means that women are now at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis. Insecure work can takemany forms. It is more than just low pay or a zero-hours contract: there aremany different types of contracts, personal finances and levels of access to rights and protections, that can introduce uncertainty into people’s lives. Notably, many people experiencemore than one kind of insecurity simultaneously. TheWork Foundation estimates that in the first half of 2022, 19.9% (6.25 million) of the UK workforce was in severely insecure work – this means experiencing involuntary part-time or involuntary temporary work, or several forms of insecure work at the same time. We describe this as ‘severe insecurity’, as this is where negative effects aremost likely to be concentrated. Insecure work has a wider impact on people’s lives. These effects include a higher risk of job loss, a lack of progression in work, and a higher risk of experiencing anxiety and depression, and other impacts on wellbeing. This is a problem, particularly when we consider that the experience of insecure work is profoundly unequal. Some people aremore likely to experience insecurity, or become trapped in it than others. This greater risk is concentrated with those who are subject to other forms of labour market disadvantage, such as disabled people, young people, ethnic minorities, and – as the Work Foundation explored recently – women. This means women aremore likely than men to bemissing out on essential rights and protections at work, including sick pay, redundancy pay and protection fromdismissal. This insecurity can have negative long-term impacts on women’s careers, their health and wellbeing, and their financial security well beyond their working lives. WHY AREWOMEN IMPACTEDMORE? There aremany reasons for differences betweenmen and women’s experience of insecure work, including differences 16 |
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