From public health crisis to childcare crisis
The lack of childcare provision is making gender inequality worse
Developmental childcare includes activities that aim to develop a child’s cognitive development, while non-developmental childcare refers to welfare and physical care tasks, such as feeding, washing or dressing children.
WOMEN are doing much more childcare than men in lockdown - and there are fears it’s putting their careers at risk.
Women in households with children aged under 18 years carry out an average of two-thirds more of the childcare duties per day than men.
During the first weeks of lockdown (between March 28 to April 26), women dedicated an average of three hours and 18 minutes per day to childcare, while men contributed two hours, a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
The difference in the provision of childcare is biggest in households with a child aged under five, with women performing 78% more childcare compared to men.
For many, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has meant changing working patterns to help children with schoolwork or to supervise them.
According to the ONS, of parents with school-aged children who said their work has been affected by the pandemic, one in five said that disruption was at least in part because of having to work around childcare responsibilities.
Parents are nearly twice as likely to be furloughed (13.6%) as those without children (7.2%).
A survey of nearly 20,000 working mothers and pregnant women by the charity Pregnant then Screwed found a lack of childcare was leading women to cut hours, lose income, and was even causing redundancies. mothers have had to reduce working hours because of childcare issues. Half of the employed mums surveyed said they don’t have the necessary childcare to do their jobs.
Additionally, 74% of self earning potential has shrunk because they cannot access childcare services.
The research found 15% of mothers either have been made redundant or expect to be made redundant. Of those, 46% cited the reason for their redundancy.
Pregnant workers were also at risk - 46% of women that have been suspended from work because of their pregnancy were suspended on incorrect terms, with 33% of them on furlough, and another 13% or to start maternity pay early.
The survey also reveals that 11% of pregnant women have been made redundant or expect to be, with 67% of these being women who are Black or from an ethnic minority background women.