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) to 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

Defining Economic Activity:

• How many women are in the workplace? Economic activity of a group is the number of employed and unemployed (actively seeking work) divided by the total population of that group, usually classified by age and/or sex.
• The economic activity rate for 18-65 year olds was 59% (33% working full-time, 21 working part time, 5% unemployed).
• Having children affected the economic activity rate, which was 65% for women with no children aged under 16, compared to 55% for women with children under 16. The significance of part-time working increased with the number of dependent children. Age of children is also important - 61% of all working women were in full-time employment, which dropped to 35% where the youngest child was between 5 and 10. This figure is 54% where the youngest child was under 4, perhaps due to the relative ease of childcare arrangements for this age group using family members.

What Kind of Work Do Women Do?

• 22% of working women were employed as Professionals in education welfare and health, 29% in Clerical and related, with 24% in Catering, cleaning, hairdressing etc. Two thirds of those in the latter occupational group worked part-time.
• 15% of women were employed in the manufacturing sector, with 75% in Distribution and Other services - this reflects the general trend in Northern Ireland of a decrease in manufacturing and an increase in service sector jobs.

The Growth of Part-Time Employment

• 39% of women in employment said they worked part-time and 88% of these part-time workers were married. 64% of part-time workers were aged 31-50
• Women were not working for 'pin money' - the main reason women worked was that they needed the money, the second reason being that they liked work.
• 67% of part-time employees worked in Other Services, while only 8% worked in Manufacturing. 61% of employed women worked 30-44 hours per week. Only 13% worked less than 16 hours i.e. 87% qualified for minimum statutory employed rights.
• 91% of those saying they worked part-time worked less than 30 hours per week.
• The lowest number of hours worked in Catering and Selling - 68% of all these employees worked less than 30 hours per week.

Terms and Conditions of Work of Part-time and Full-time Workers

• Statutory employment rights focus on full-time workers, as do National Insurance contributions, which affects state benefits.
• 66% of working women had a written contract of employment (68% of full-time workers and 62% of those working part-time).
• 75% of women workers were entitled to sick pay from their employer (88% of full-time employees and 57% of part-time employees).
• 52% of women in employment said that their employer did not offer an occupational scheme, and another 27% did not belong. Where a scheme was available, 79% of full-time employees belonged, compared to 55% of part-time employees.
• 74% of full-time workers said their employers provided a maternity leave scheme, compared to 49% of part-time employees.
• 96% of working women said that nursery or crèche facilities were not provided by their employer.
• 25% of working women did not know that their paid holiday entitlement was. Paid holiday entitlement was better for full-time employees than those working part-time.

Earnings

• 68% of those answering this section earned less than £150 per week (and included all working women under 20); 7% earned more than £300 per week. The median wage was £80 for full-time workers and £144.73 for those working part-time.
• Average gross hourly wage for a full-time worker was £4.00 - £3.47 for a part-time worker.
• The highest paid industries were Banking and Other Services - over 40% earned more than £150 per week, compared to only 12% of those in Distribution.
• Prospects for Women in Employment in Northern Ireland in the 1990s
• Falling number of school leavers means women will be in demand in the labour force.
• While jobs in service industries will rise, these may be in public sector or privatised.
• EC Directives may affect terms and conditions of employment for example, in relation to maternity leave.
• Attempts to redress the problems associated with the recession may focus on reducing male unemployment, although the creation of "back office" jobs may mean part-time clerical jobs being filled by women.