Research led by Leeds Uni looks at the early signs of gender work inequalities and how disadvantages in employment develop over time.
New research will examine how women’s early employment experiences shape long-term career paths and reinforce inequalities in the labour market.
Gender Work Inequalities research
The project, which was led by the University of Leeds and UK Research and Innovation, aims to highlight how inequality is apparent in young women’s earliest experiences of paid work through an analysis of national labour market datasets, combined with focus groups and interviews with young women who have not yet had children.
Leeds Uni works explained previous studies have often focused on the ‘motherhood penalty’ – the notion that women with children encounter work-related disadvantages more so than those without children – when discussing gendered inequalities.
However, there is little data showing that women experience gender inequalities irrespective of being a parent and this project will examine the factors that contribute to this.
Principal investigator Dr Kim Allen, from the University of Leeds’ School of Sociology and Social Policy, said: ‘We know women now outperform men in education and outnumber them in higher education.
‘Despite this, women still experience inequalities in the labour market, such as the gender pay gap, higher levels of precarious employment, and discrepancies in promotions.
‘Young women are often at the sharp end of wider economic downturns – whether that be austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the current cost of living crisis.
‘Our project will shed a light on the experiences of women from an early age, so we can help develop policies and practices that support equitable employment outcomes in the future.’
‘Transforming Working Lives’
The project is part of the ‘Transforming Working Lives’ initiative – a broader scheme of research projects investigating changes in working lives and power in the workplace, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Alongside analysis of national data sets, the research will involve focus groups with young women aged 14 to 23 who are working while still in education, and in-depth interviews with employed women of ages 16 to 29 who have completed their studies.
The research project – L-earning: rethinking young women’s working lives – starts in October and is funded for three years in collaboration with Professor Rachel Cohen from City, University of London and Dr Kirsty Finn from Manchester Metropolitan University.
The project will be assisted by a young women’s advisory group who will play a central role in steering the study and ensuring young women’s voices are centred in the research.