Addressing women’s poverty in West Sussex: local labour market initiatives

Karen EscottGender and Employment in Local Labour Markets programmeSheffield Hallam University

Addressing women’s poverty: local labour market initiatives

Study of women facing economic disadvantage in the Hotham, Marine and Pevensey wards in Bognor

Regis What are the barriers to paid and higher paid jobs? How effective have local regeneration initiatives been? What would assist women in improving their

employment situation?

Study approach included: statistical analysis of ward data analysis of regeneration documents interviews with people with a knowledge of

regeneration initiatives and the local labour market discussions with women in two focus groups: at The

Nursery, Bognor Regis Baptist Church and Bognor Regis Nursery School

Women’s economic disadvantage

The area has an ageing population (Pevensey has a younger population)

The largest minority group is White Other Recent migration into the area involves households living

on low incomes A quarter of dependent children in the area live in families

with no working adult Lone mothers are less likely to be in paid work than in the

county as a whole Over 800 people (59% women) in the area receive income

support Poor health and limiting long-term illness are more

common in the areaPockets of poverty exist within a mile or two of very wealthy areas. Debt is a major problem

Data sources used in this presentation are indicated in the study reportCrown copyright material from the Census 2001 is reproduced with permission

Women's Qualifications A high number of women in the area have no formal

qualifications

Percentage of women aged 25-34 without qualifications: Hotham: 16% Marine: 8% Pevensey: 19% West Sussex: 10% England: 14%

Percentage of women aged 35-49 without qualifications Hotham: 26% Marine: 24% Pevensey: 28% West Sussex: 19% England: 26%

Even when qualified, women living in the wards were less likely to be in employment than in the county as a whole

Women's employment in Hotham, Marine and Pevensey

Working age women in Hotham and Marine were more likely to be in full-time employment Hotham: 40% Marine: 43% Pevensey: 35% West Sussex: 38% England: 36%

A low proportion of women in Hotham and Marine work part-time Hotham: 17% Marine: 17% Pevensey: 25% West Sussex: 26% England: 23%

Women's employment in Hotham, Marine and Pevensey

High percentage of women employees work in low skilled occupations

Hotham: 19% Marine: 11% Pevensey: 13% West Sussex: 10% England: 12%

Low percentage of women employees work in senior/managerial occupations in Hotham

A third of women work in wholesale, retail, restaurants and hotels compared with less than a quarter in West Sussex.

Health and social work is a particularly important sector in Pevensey

Women's unemployment and economic inactivity

Women’s economic inactivity in the Hotham and Marine wards increased 1991-2001, against the national trend

In Pevensey economic inactivity amongst women declined from a high rate

High percentage of working age women now either economically inactive or unemployed

Hotham: 33% Marine: 30% Pevensey: 32% West Sussex 27% England: 32%

Many economically inactive or unemployed women last worked in elementary occupations in health and social work, wholesale and retail or in hotels and restaurants

Unpaid care amongst women of working age

Women who provide unpaid care to dependents in Marine and Pevensey wards were less likely to work

Rates of employment among women who provide unpaid care Hotham: 55% (26% PT) Marine: 48% (20% PT) Pevensey: 49% (26% PT) West Sussex: 55% (29% PT) England: 52% (26% PT)

Women’s travel to work patterns

Women are much more likely to work close to home and to travel to work on foot

More women in the wards travel less than 2km to work Hotham: 56% Marine: 39% Pevensey: 46% West Sussex: 28% England: 25%

Views of the local labour market Increasingly female, service sector workforce

Increasing dependence on poor quality and low paid employment centred on tourism

Jobs were considered to be unpredictable and casualised

You look in the papers every week and they’re £5.00 an hour, and if you are on benefits you’ve got to think really hard about that. They are all low paid and short term

Local women living in the area felt that the combination of low wages and high house prices had led to high levels of debt

People cannot live on the wages that they get, the South is worse because even if you get minimum wage you can't afford to live

A low skills base was also cited as a problem

Women’s views and aspirations Most women wanted to work but felt that they lacked

support A high ratio of people leave school early with few or no qualifications, and their expectations of work are quite low

Community-based provision was important to womenOne of the big learning points from our basic skills project is that where training is carried out in the community setting, retention rates are very high and more of these people have progressed to further training

Paid work was expected to have wider health and social benefits

Women in low-skilled jobs were aiming to find better paid workThere are a lot of opportunities on paper to get a teaching qualification, but in practice I hit brick wall after brick wall

Barriers to labour market engagement in the wards

Lack of formal qualifications and breaks in employmentPeople haven't got the skills which mean that they can't get well paid jobs

The tax and benefit system was a constraint on women's participation in the labour market As long as the benefits trap exists and there isn’t a clear way out for people, it is very hard, because the wages are so low in the area

The availability and cost of childcare were a problem for women seeking work or in low paid employment The problem is that cheap childcare doesn't cover working hours

Childcare services for local school-aged children were felt to be inadequate The lack of breakfast clubs and after-school facilities limits not just children’s education, but prevents further work on raising self esteem and expectation for parents

Area-based labour market initiatives Public investment in the area has largely focused on social

infrastructure projects which have benefited local residents, but there was concern about future sustainability

Better education, better skilled and better qualified young people at all levels to assist in building stronger communities

The distinctions between women and men were not treated separately in interventions to regenerate the area and reduce economic inactivity

Limited gender analysis in regeneration documents

Evaluation approaches took little account of the key differences in women’s economic position

Regeneration approaches Managers and local community representatives felt that

future investment needs to address economic inactivity, low pay and the skills gap for women and menYou can’t dismiss the large numbers of jobs in sectors like care and tourism. What we don’t have is people working in higher quality jobs in those sectors.

Clearer support for indigenous businesses and projects aiming at developing women’s entrepreneurial abilities

More opportunities for needed for flexible workingOne of the main barriers for women with children is the lack of management accepting flexible working, particularly at higher levels

Women suffered from low expectations about types of workA high ratio of people leave school early with few or no qualifications, and their expectations of work are quite low

Services to support women in Hotham, Marine and Pevensey

A clearer understanding of the employment and training needs of women living in the locality

The Job Centre, they come here and if you’re a single parent they discuss what options you’ve got going back to work and things like

Informal and formal courses to help women take initial steps to raising qualifications and skills

Support tailored to the needs of women from ethnic minority backgroundsThe facilities for people without English are very poor

Childcare provision which meets the differing childcare needs of lone parents and other low income households in the area

Local employers including education, health and social care could offer an effective route to better paid work for local residentsA very enlightened employer who values his workforce and their skills enough to turn his organisation upside down to do the work

Conclusions and Recommendations (1)

Regeneration initiatives focusing on the local labour market

Strengthen joint working between senior policy makers, community based organisations and regeneration agencies on employment initiatives in the locality

Raise awareness and improve information on education, training, childcare support and employment initiatives, using a range of media in local community venues

Create employment projects aimed at supporting women in the community which bring together training provision, childcare support, work experience supported by effective local services

Establish explicit employment targets for public and private sector schemes designed to enhance job opportunities for local women

Introduce gender impact assessment for future area based initiatives

Conclusions and Recommendations (2)

Taking advantage of employment potential Continue to build community capacity through education and

employment projects Develop explicit support for young women who aspire to higher

skilled employment Strengthen and integrate support services for women who wish to

return to paid employment Introduce access courses and work experience schemes, including

placements, which are clearly planned and supported Establish self-employment schemes, including mentoring Maintain employment sites in areas of physical regeneration and

housing redevelopment

Supporting women with care responsibilities Invest in pre-school, after-school and holiday care services Build on good practice found in education projects and school based

learning projects Ensure that the success of the Family Centre and community

based services is sustained

Conclusions and Recommendations (3)

Employer responsibilities Further work with local employers to address job

flexibility, hours, and in-house training Explore the role of public sector service providers as

local employers, and review their employment strategies. Identify public, private and voluntary sector employers

facing skills shortages Provide resources and long term project development to

support women to establish new businesses and engage in higher paying sectors

Encourage local employers to reconsider new ways of advertising and recruiting local jobs

In-work benefits and incentives

Introduce better financial incentives for women returning to work, and in-work incentives through the tax credit system

Addressing women’s poverty in West Sussex: local labour market initiatives

by Karen Escott, Christopher Price & Lisa Buckner (2006) is published by the Centre for Social Inclusion, Sheffield Hallam University. Similar studies are being published in 2006 in co-operation with local authorities in Birmingham, East Staffordshire, Southwark, Newcastle, and Somerset.

Addressing women’s poverty: local labour market initiatives synthesis report, bringing together findings from all 6 localities, will be available in July 2006

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The GELLM project, in collaboration with West Sussex County Council, has also published:The Gender Profile of West Sussex’s Local Labour Market (2004) by L Buckner, S Yeandle and N Tang

Working Below Potential: Women and Part-time work in West Sussex(2006) by L Grant, S Yeandle and L Buckner

Local Challenges in Meeting Demand for Domiciliary Care: (2004) by S. Yeandle, L. Shipton, & L. Buckner