Irish Times, 05/09/2002

Women resuming work 'need better deal'

Women seeking to return to work after caring for their children are likely to have lower educational qualifications than those who stayed in the workforce. They are also likely to return to jobs which are less demanding and lower-paid than those they had before they left the workforce.

These are among the findings of a report from the ESRI, Getting Out of the House: Women Returning to Employment, Education and Training, published yesterday.

Introducing the report, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Willie O'Dea, pointed out that 38 per cent of returners to the workforce have no qualifications, and 28 per cent have Intermediate Certificate qualifications only, a total of two-thirds of all returners.

This highlighted the need for education and training for women who wanted to return to the workforce, he said, drawing attention to the work being done by projects funded under the Equality for Women Measure.

The annual report of this initiative was also published yesterday.

Referring to the ESRI report, Mr O'Dea said: "Around half of women returners in every year feel they have skills or qualifications to do a more demanding job than they are doing. Women who leave the workforce deserve the greatest level of support possible to achieve their full potential when they choose to return to work. Society as a whole loses, and not just the individual women themselves, if they are funnelled into low-skilled, low-paid employment."

The report identified the lack of childcare as still one of the greatest obstacles to women returning to education, training and the labour market.

Those with children under five were significantly less likely to be seeking employment than other groups, and among women with schoolgoing children the lack of after-school care was a major issue.

One of the report's authors, Mr Philip O'Connell, said that there had not been a full take-up of the allocation for support for childcare facilities in 2001, and there had to be concern as to whether supply would keep up with demand up to 2006, as envisaged in the National Development Plan.

He also said that if employers were serious about encouraging women back to work they must be more flexible in relation to part-time work and family-friendly policies. They should also recognise the skills women acquired while working in the home, especially in areas such as the voluntary sector.
The report identified the lack of childcare for those participating in training as a problem. There was a childcare allowance of €63.49 a week for participants in FÁS courses, but this was only payable to the provider, which did not take account of the needs of those who had informal arrangements, Mr O'Connell said.

Additional childcare costs in the main urban areas were between €4.77 and €5.21 an hour, according to the ICTU.

The ESRI report also identified a lack of information about the availability of courses, eligibility and entitlements as a barrier to women returning to training.

The women who do return to work tend to do so in low-paid, low-skilled jobs which offer little opportunity for advancement, like cleaning, catering and shop work. Many had had higher-status jobs before.

The reasons for the "downgrading" included low aspirations and confidence, and the price they paid for flexible, family-friendly hours. Seventy-one per cent of returners opted to work part-time when they re-entered the labour market.

Hourly rates of pay of female returners were found to be lower than average female wages. However, the report states that it will be necessary in further research to examine differentials in education levels and years of experience.

The report also highlighted the need for ongoing support and the provision of training opportunities for women who make the transition into paid employment.