HOW PART-TIME WOMEN WORKERS ARE KEEPING OUR COUNCILS AFLOAT
There is just one man working part-time in local councils for every eight women
NEARLY half of the total workforce in local councils is made up of women in parttime roles.
Experts said the figures reflect the “shocking” persistence of the gender imbalance in local government, and that women are particularly vulnerable to cuts caused by austerity.
The data, published by the ONS, shows that a total of 1.4m people were employed full-time and part-time by councils between July and September 2018.
Some 47 per cent of these - or 667,380 - were women in part-time roles.
That works out as a rate of eight women working in a part-time position for every one man.
Harini Iyengar, spokesperson for equal representation at the Women’s Equality Party, said: “These figures reflect the shocking gender imbalance that persists in government and business across the UK.
“This underemployment is a predictable but avoidable outcome of austerity policies, which have hit women especially hard.
“As they feel the pinch of increasing childcare costs, are forced to take on unpaid care work to fill growing gaps in our social infrastructure, or are overlooked for hiring or promotion in a business world which still regards male employees as a ‘safer’ option in times of economic difficulty, many women are pushed into part-time work or out of work entirely.
“As mothers or carers they rely on many council services and, because of the high proportion of women who are employed in the public sector, they are also very vulnerable to pay freezes and mass redundancies”.
Wokingham in Berkshire had the worst rate across all councils in England and Wales, with 18 women working part-time jobs for every man.
That was followed by Northamptonshire (17 women working part-time for every man) and West Berkshire, Waveney (16 women working part-time for every man).
The worst rate in Wales was Bridgend with 14 women for every man.
At the other end of the scale, with an equal rate of men and women, were Boston, Tendring, Canterbury, Derbyshire Dales, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Stafford, Harrogate, Isles of Scilly and Worthing.
Christina McAnea, assistant general secretary for UNISON, said: “Parttime work suits many women because it fits around their childcare.
“Council employers should be encouraging their male employees to work more flexibly or do fewer hours when they become parents.
“This would allow more dads to do the school runs and nursery pick ups. “But the real issue is that parttime work is often low paid.
“As a society we need to start placing greater value on the jobs that women tend to do. “Part-time work shouldn’t mean poverty pay.”