ESRC: What’s holding women back?

Any woman wanting to succeed in business should act like a “surrogate man”. That’s the conclusion of leading social scientists from across Europe, gathering this month for an international conference on gender, class, employment and family. Delegates attending the event will hear not only that gender inequality remains complex and persistent, but that educational attainment and employment prospects of women, men and children are polarised by class, as well as gender, differences. The ability to achieve work/life balance also has a significant social class, as well as a gender, dimension.

According to Dr Clare Lyonette, of City University, the decision to go back to work is “because of a need for self-fulfilment, common amongst middle class women.”

Professor Rosemary Crompton, also based at City University agrees, saying ‘Working class mothers are more likely to work because they need the money. Patterns in childcare choice are also class related, with lower social groups more likely to rely on relatives, and professional and managerial parents choosing more expensive options. However, gender also comes into play. Men are more likely to express concern about their children being looked after by outside help.’

Women’s job prospects have improved, according to recent research by Dr Erzsebet Bukodi, Professors Shirley Dex and Heather Joshi (Institute of Education, University of London), but only if they take few breaks for childbirth and return to work full-time as soon as possible. They will consider if a ‘bad start’ inevitably leads to a dreary working life, or whether it can be a stepping-stone to something more rewarding.

The distinguished feminist economist, Professor Nancy Folbre, from the University of Massachusetts, will discuss her work on paid or unpaid “caring labour,” which includes caring for children and caring for the elderly, as well as nursing and teaching.

Professors Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund and Arne Mastekaasa, from the University of Oslo, will present findings on income inequalities in dual earner couples in Norway, a Scandinavian welfare state with high female labour force participation.

Professor Kate Purcell, University of Warwick, will outline the largest ever longitudinal study of the relationship between higher education, participation, career decisions and outcomes. This follows her previous study which found that women in their first full time job earned 11 per cent less than their male peers. Seven years later the gap had grown to 19 per cent. Her research confirmed that women tend to give priority not to higher wages, but to work in the public sector and also to helping others.

The conference marks the end of Project 7 in the GeNet programme, and will also include presentations on the influence of gender on perceptions of quality of life, employment and care in Muslim women’s lives, a study of Norwegian breastfeeding policy and the effect of childhood experience on later achievements.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Professor Rosemary Crompton (R.Crompton@city.ac.uk);
Dr Clare Lyonette (C.Lyonette@city.ac.uk)

ESRC Press Office:

Kelly Barnett on Tel: 01793 413032; e-mail: kelly.barnett@esrc.ac.uk
Danielle Moore on Tel: 01793 413122; e-mail: danielle.moore@esrc.ac.uk


NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Leading social scientists from Europe, many of whom are part of the Economic and Social Research Council research priority network on gender equality (GeNet; www.genet.ac.uk)

2. The programme will be organised around three themes:
• Families and households will examine ethnic differences; inequalities within the household, including the use of time and money; and the link between family and quality of life.
• Gender, careers and labour markets looks at the transition into early adulthood and parenting; different occupational choices, and the way higher education influences gender inequalities and different labour market sectors.
• Gender and class focuses on how inequalities are changing both in the UK and Europe.

3. The Gender, Class, Employment and Family International Conference will be held at Birley Lecture Theatre, Centenary Building, City University, Spencer Street, London, and the School of Social Sciences, St John Street, March 27-28, 2008.

4. The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invests more than £123 million every year in social science and at any time is supporting some 2,000 researchers in academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

1. ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range of social science research and presents it in a way that makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research (formerly accessible via the Regard website) and key online resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included, for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal provides access to early findings and research summaries, as well as full texts and original datasets through integrated search facilities. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk