TUC: BME women 12 times more likely than men to be out of the labour market due to caring commitments

• New TUC analysis finds 460,000 BME women are out of the labour market because of their unpaid caring responsibilities 

• BME women in their 30s are hardest hit – 1 in 5 in this age group are out of the jobs market because of the pressures of looking after their family 

• TUC says lack of flexible childcare and accessible social care is keeping BME women out of the jobs market 

• Union body says Labour’s New Deal for Working People would be “transformative for women at work”  

Black, minority and ethic (BME women) are 12 times more likely than men to be out of the labour market due to caring commitments, according to a new analysis published by the TUC today (Monday). 

The new analysis of official statistics finds that one in eight (12%) BME women are not working due to their caring commitments, compared to just one in 100 (1%) men. 

BME women in their 30s hardest hit 

At every age – from the very start right of their careers through to retirement age – women are more likely than men to be out of the labour market because of unpaid caring commitments, with BME women most likely to be in this position, says the TUC.  

The research shows that BME women in their 30s are the hardest hit. 

One in five (19%) BME women in their 30s are currently out of the labour market because of caring responsibilities – compared to one in 13 (8%) white women, and just one in 100 (1%) men the same age. 

And the analysis shows the situation doesn’t improve much for older women. One in seven (15%) and one in 10 (10%) BME women in their 40s and their 50s are out of the labour market because of their caring commitments. 

BME women make up just one in 14 (7%) of the 16+ population, but account for more than one in four (27%) of those who are out of the jobs market due to caring responsibilities.   

The TUC is concerned that BME families are at higher risk of falling into poverty because of the barriers women face to accessing the jobs market. 

Care services that support families and workers 

The TUC argues that high-quality, flexible childcare and accessible social care services would help BME women who want to progress in work or enter the labour market, to continue with their careers.  

TUC analysis also suggests that caring responsibilities shape the lives of many women as they also shoulder most of the care for older and disabled relatives too – but the TUC is warning that the workforce crisis in social care is making it harder for women to work alongside their caring responsibilities. 

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: 

“Women shouldn’t have to give up or cut down on paid work because they can’t find or afford the right care for their children or older or disabled relatives. 

“But too many BME women who’d like to be in work are excluded from the jobs market because of their caring commitments. 

“Once women leave paid work, they often take that financial hit for the rest of their lives. It’s a key driver of the gender pay gap – and it’s clear it is contributing to a big number of BME households living on the poverty line. 

“We desperately need more flexible childcare for all families, that works around shifts, weekend work and irregular working patterns, to support women who want to work. 

On Labour’s new deal for working people, Paul added: 

“Labour’s New Deal for working people would be transformative for women at work.  

“It would be a gamechanger for parental rights – giving all workers the day one right to parental leave.  

“It would introduce fair pay agreements to get pay rising in social care, going some way to tackling the recruitment and retention crisis that blights the sector.  

“And it would give all workers the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job. 

“These are just some of the policies Labour is promising – with an employment bill in its first 100 days.” 

Action needed 

The TUC is calling for government action to stop women being forced out of work, make sure they are paid fairly, and to properly address the gender pay gap. 

The TUC says Labour’s New Deal for Working People would be transformative for women at work. 

Labour has pledged to deliver new rights for working people in an employment bill in its first 100 days. 

Labour’s new deal would: 

• Strengthen collective bargaining by introducing fair pay agreements to boost pay and conditions – starting in social care. The TUC says this would go some way to tackling the high staff turnover rates in the sector,  

• Introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting and disability pay gap reporting  

• Strengthen flexible working rights by introducing a day one right to work flexibly.  

• Ban zero hours contracts to help end the scourge of insecure work, which is particularly widespread in sectors like social care. 

• Give all workers day one rights on the job. Labour will scrap qualifying time for basic rights, such as unfair dismissal, sick pay, and parental leave. Women (33%) are more likely than men (31%) to have worked for their employer for less than two years. And BME workers are far more likely (42%) than white workers (30%) to have not notched up 24 months).