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Background to the Research
- Women's
Working Lives Survey was commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission
for Northern Ireland in 1990. The survey was designed to: (1) identify
factors which determine whether or not women participate in paid work
and how the unpaid work undertaken by women in the home influences
their involvement in the labour market; (2) record the type of paid
work women have done and do, as well as their attitudes and experiences
of employment.
Research
Approach
- 1000
women were interviewed who lived in private households and were aged
between 18 and 65. The sample was drawn from the 1990 Register of
Electors using a 2 stage proportionate random sample. The interview
took a semi-structured approach, including some prompt items
Main
Findings
- 166
women cared for disabled or elderly relatives or friends; over half
these women were aged between 40 and 60.
- The
care given varied in the amount of time and type: just under half
the carers lived with the dependent, and half of these provided total
care. Non-resident caring mainly comprised of keeping an eye on the
person or undertaking household chores. The majority of carers (65%)
were caring for a parent or parent-in-law, and 16% of carers cared
for two people.
- 30%
of carers provided more than 16 hours of care per week.
- Carers
had lower rates of employment - 28% of carers were employed full-time
and 27% employed part-time, compared to figures of 39% and 19% for
non-carers. However, only 20% said that caring had prevented their
employment, although this rose with the number of hours of care provided.
- Over
a quarter of non-employed women providing care said that informal
care was the reason that they did not work, and rose to more than
half of women caring for 30 or more hours per week.
- 7%
of women who did not say that they had informal care responsibilities
cited informal care as the reason they did not work.
- Carers
who are employed are more likely to be in high-earning jobs - which
may allow them to buy in substitute carers. Caring also has an effect
on household income.
- Policy
dedicated to improving equality of opportunity must also address the
employment problems of carers.
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