Women and Work: Challenge and Opportunity
February 2001 

The participation of women in the labour market is essential to the success of the UK economy and also provides significant benefits for employers, particularly in terms of the skills and experience available to them. There is growing recognition that the skills women excel in are to be highly valued in the changing economy.

This FactSheet highlights some characteristics of women’s involvement in the labour force, many with significant implications for employers.

Some facts about women’s participation in the labour market

The UK female level of employment is at record high levels.

• In Spring 2000 there were a record 12.5 million women (aged 16 plus) in employment in the UK.¹

• The number of women in employment has risen by 843,000 since 1990, while the number of men is only 33,000 higher.¹

• However, over the last 3 years, the growth in employment has been higher among men than women.¹

The UK female employment rate is also at its highest ever level, at 69%.¹

• Every UK region has a female employment rate above the 1999 European Union (EU) female employment rate of 53%. Female employment rates in the UK regions vary from 75% in the South East to 58% in Northern Ireland. In all regions the male employment rate is higher.¹

• The employment rate for ethnic minority women at 49% is about 20 percentage points lower than the Great Britain (GB) female rate.¹

• The female employment rate ranges from 75% for women aged 35-49 to 46% for women aged 16-17. The female employment rate increases with the age of women until the 50-59 age group, where it falls to 64%.¹

• Married or cohabiting women are more likely than single women to be in employment.¹

• Employment rates are higher for women without children. For those with children, employment rates are much lower for lone mothers than for mothers who are married or cohabiting. However, employment growth in the last three years has been higher among lone mothers. The employment rate for men is higher for those with children than without.¹

• Employment rates are higher among women with a higher level of qualification.¹

Other features of women’s participation in the labour market include that:

• The majority (80%) of working women are permanent employees and of those the majority (60%) are full time.¹

• 88% of jobs taken by women are in service industries - particularly the public administration, education and health industries.¹

• Female employment is concentrated in non-manual occupations, in particular clerical, sales and personal/protective occupations.¹

• Women working full-time earned 82% of hourly earnings of male full-time employees in GB in 2000.²

• A mother gap in lifetime earnings of £140,000 is experienced by a mid-skilled mother of two in addition to a gender earnings gap of £241,000, a total of £381,000 earnings foregone over a lifetime compared with an equivalently educated man.³

Young women and the job market

Young women tend to make different educational choices to men and have their own beliefs and expectations about the experience of women in the labour market.

• The level of post-16 qualifications chosen by young people appears to be shaped by traditional gender assumptions about men’s and women’s work. Even in female-dominated sectors more men than women hold higher level vocational qualifications.⁹

• Over half of all those who graduated with a first degree in 1999 were female, however there were gender differences in degree subject: approximately 15,000 men aged 18-24 obtained a first degree in engineering and technology, compared with around only 3,000 women.¹⁰

• Many young women believe that women are disadvantaged in the workplace when it comes to pay and promotion.¹¹

• Women in the under-35 age group are more likely than older women to leave their current organisation for more flexibility in work arrangements.¹²

Work and career breaks

There are more women than ever before returning to paid work soon after having children, with their own requirements for balancing work and family life.³

• The proportion of women returning to work within a year after childbirth has increased dramatically — 67% in 1996 compared to 45% in 1988.³

• Lack of flexible working arrangements play a major role in influencing mothers’ decisions to stay at home. A Women’s Unit survey on mothers’ reasons for not doing paid work, found that reasons included that suitable childcare was too costly or that they couldn’t find work with suitable hours.¹³

• Almost half of all parents say that a supportive employer is important in helping women return to work, and a similar proportion feel that working mothers do not receive this support from employers.¹⁴

• The changing age profile of the population will require a change in work/life balance policies to include a focus on elder care as well as maternity leave and childcare.

• The cost of replacing an employee can be up to almost 50% of their yearly salary.²⁰

Work/life balance

14% of people are care-givers and this proportion is likely to increase.¹⁵ At the same time, there is also a popular belief that commitment to family responsibilities hinders the advancement of women in the workplace.

• Men generally work longer hours than women do. The proportion of men working standard hours is less than the number working long hours.¹

• 83% of women believe that commitment to family responsibilities hinders women’s advancement in the workplace.¹²

• Around 14% of all adults provide care, either with people living with them or to non-resident family members. Changes in demography mean that the proportion of dependants to carers will increase in future years.¹⁵

• Since 1980 the proportion of mothers with children under 5 who are in paid work has increased from 28% to 53% in 1999.³

Part-time work

Many women prefer to work part-time, particularly those with young dependent children. Part-time work and other flexible working arrangements represent an opportunity for employer and employee to meet their different needs.

• The proportion of men who are part-time permanent employees (5%) is much smaller than for women (34%).¹

• Around 2 in 5 parents regard the opportunity to work part-time as essential in enabling women to return to work.¹⁴

• The proportion of women working standard hours (36-40 hours) is much lower among those with dependent children, particularly among those with younger children and the proportion working short hours (0-15 hours) is much higher.¹

• Alternatives to part-time employment include formal job sharing and ‘term-time’ working, which are currently not commonly used.⁵

Benefits for employers

• The business benefits of flexible employment practices have been well documented and include reduced casual sickness absence, improved retention, improved productivity and improved morale and commitment.⁴ Research supports the view that employers who have introduced measures to support working parents find that they are beneficial (or at least neutral) in cost-benefit terms.⁵

• There is research suggesting that women bring different skills and strengths, for example strong social and communications skills, to the work environment, complementing those offered by men.⁶

• The number of female executives is increasing — the level of 22% (April 2000) is more than double that recorded five years prior.⁷

• Women are active in the business community, accounting for about one-third of business start-ups. In addition, one third of businesses with a turnover of up to £1 million are owned by women.⁸

Age and opportunity

An ageing population, with falling participation rates amongst older workers, will adversely affect the labour market. The need to increase employment rates amongst older working age women will become more and more important as employers face growing skills shortages.

• The general ageing of the UK population will see the size of the 45-59 age category growing significantly.¹⁶ By 2010, 40% of the UK workforce will be over 45.¹⁷

• In addition, between 1986 and 2006 the number of 16-24 year old women entering the workforce will have fallen by 30%.¹⁷

• There is evidence suggesting that an age diverse workforce brings reduced staff turnover and absenteeism, and improve motivation and commitment. Research also highlights the high level of communication and personal skills that older workers bring to the workplace and the commercial benefit gained by reflecting an age diverse market.¹⁸

Great Britain in context

In terms of female participation in the labour market, the UK compares favourably across EU countries. In addition, the hours worked by full-time employees in the UK are the longest per week in the EU.

• Compared with the rest of the EU, full-time employees in the United Kingdom work on average the longest hours per week in their main job — for both men and women.¹⁹

• The UK has the highest female employment rate of the major EU countries and the third highest of all EU countries. It is just behind Denmark and Sweden. The female employment rate is above the EU average in every region.¹

Sources

1. Trends in Female Employment, C Bower, 2000.
2. New Earnings Survey 2000, Office for National Statistics, 2000.
3. Women’s incomes over the lifetime — the mother gap, The Women’s Unit, 2000.
4. Family-friendly employment: the business case, S Bevan, S Dench, P Tamkin and J Cummings, DFEE Research brief No 136, 1999.
5. Work and Parents, Competitiveness and Choice — research and analysis, Department of Trade and Industry, 2000.
6. Doing more for women in IT, R George, IBM Global Services, 1999.
7. National Management Salary Survey 2000, Remuneration Economics, 2000.
8. Women in Business — the barriers start to fall, Barclays Bank PLC, 2000.
9. Recent Research on Gender and Educational Performance, Office for Standards in Education, 1998.
10. Social Focus on Young People, Office for National Statistics, 2000.
11. Women’s Social Attitudes 1983-1998, The Women’s Unit, 2000.
12. Breaking the barriers: women in senior management in the UK, Opportunity Now, 2000.
13. Women’s attitudes to combining paid work and family life, The Women’s Unit, 1998.
14. Working Mothers Survey, Research Study Conducted for the Daycare Trust, 2000.
15. The Millennium Papers — Future Work and Lifestyles, J Scales and R Pahl, The Age Concern, 1999.
16. Fit and Fifty? A report prepared for the Economic and Social Research Council, 2000.
17. Reeds Skills Shortages Index, 1998.
18. Typewriters to team-working, A report into secretaries and ageism, Employers Forum on Age, 1999.
19. Social Trends, 2001 Edition, Office for National Statistics, 2001.
20. Opportunity Now, 1999.

Further information

• Skills, Competencies and Gender: Issue for pay and training, MT Strebler, M Thompson, P Heron, IES Report 333, 1997.
• Parents’ Demand for Childcare, I La Valle, S Finch, A Nove, C Lewin, DFEE Research brief No 176, 1999.
• The Work-Life Balance, Equal Opportunities Commission, Women and Men in Britain series.
• The Labour Market, Equal Opportunities Commission, Women and Men in Britain series.
• Towards a balanced workforce, Austin Knight UK Limited, 1996.
• Pay and Income, Equal Opportunities Commission, Women and Men in Britain series.
• Women as Entrepreneurs in Sweden and the UK — different perspectives, The Women’s Unit, 2001.
• Green Paper: Work & Parents competitiveness and choice, Department of Trade and Industry, 2001

Useful Links

Office of National Statistics

Department of Education and Skills

Department of Trade and Industry

Equality Opportunity Commission

Women's National Commission

Opportunity Now

Employers for Work-Life Balance

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