In the fourth of our new guest blog series on insecure work, Mali Lewis (Peer Researcher, Young Women’s Trust), explores how severely insecure work is affecting young women.

For most of us, paid work is a huge part of our lives; the average UK worker will spend an estimated 85,000 hours in paid work in their lifetime. While many people have the opportunity to develop a career and enjoy a rewarding, stable job, others face a very different reality. The Work Foundation’s Insecure Work Index, using labour force survey data, estimates that as many as 6.2 million workers in the UK experienced severe job insecurity in 2021.

I am not surprised that the Index shows that women and young people are more likely to experience severely insecure work. As a Peer Researcher at Young Women’s Trust, I’ve had the opportunity to interview young women about their experiences for our latest annual survey report, and I’ve learnt a lot about the kinds of gender- and age- based inequalities we’re seeing in the workplace.

The gender gap in insecure work

Findings from our latest annual survey support those from the Work Foundation. We surveyed over 4,000 young women, more than 1,000 young men, and almost 1,000 professionals involved in recruitment and HR decision-making.

We found that young women are more likely to be offered a zero hours contract compared to young men. Many young women (almost 3 in 10) also said they are not offered enough hours, and one third worry about their job security.

Age plays an important role in exposure to insecure work

The Work Foundation’s Insecure Work Index found that young workers are 2.5 times more likely than older workers to be in severely insecure paid work — 43% of 16-24-year olds compared to 17% of 25-65-year olds.

Young people are much more likely than average to change jobs frequently, and with eligibility for some employment rights dependent on working for the same employer for more than two years, many young people are left without important workplace protections. Young people are also more likely to be poorly paid, and in temporary work.

During Covid-19, we saw this higher exposure to insecure work reflected in a disproportionate number of job losses among younger workers. As new jobs became available in the second half of 2021, with a reopening of hospitality and customer service businesses after lockdown, we witnessed a significant number of young people entering into insecure work in these sectors.

What should employers do?

The nature of many of the sectors in which young women are likely to work, often meaning inconsistent hours or expected to be available at short notice is a serious issue. Many respondents to our survey said that unpredictable hours affect them negatively. Some of these negative impacts can be mitigated by employers, for example, employers may make rotas available four weeks in advance, which would support workers to better plan and manage their time and their finances. Moreover, employers should provide compensation if shifts are cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice. Lastly, young women tell us that they want to increase work more hours but either their contracts offer only variable, unpredictable hours or they are unable to find the affordable, flexible childcare they need to make this viable. Young Women’s Trust’s report recommends that workplaces should not employ workers for fewer than 16 hours a week, - unless the employee prefers otherwise, and that the Government commits to investing in childcare that provides flexibility for parents at a price they can afford.

Flexibility is important and is vital to providing young women with opportunities, but too often young women experience one-sided flexibility which makes their work less secure. There is an increasing need for flexibility in jobs that truly benefits both the employer and the workers. This is underlined by our latest survey, which found that 82% of young women consider it important to have access to options for flexible working, but these options are often lacking. As much as a quarter of young women indicated that a lack of opportunities for flexible working have made it difficult to find work. In the context of the currently tight labour market, this is concerning, but potentially something that is easily addressed by employers who are eager to hire talented staff, as we found that many employers do provide flexible working options, and should simply ensure that they highlight these in their job advertisements.

As someone with lived experience of some of these issues, I feel very passionately about flexible working being available from day one for young women. It’s clear to me that employers stand to benefit from having trust in their workers and, wherever possible, should make allowances for young women to work in a way that suits them.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that insecure work disproportionately affects young people and women. Insecurity has a big impact on workers’ lives at work as well as at home. As wider evidence around insecure work has shown, being in insecure work can have long lasting effects on career outcomes, even after people find more stable employment. It is up to Government, employers and other policy makers to listen to the experiences of young people and women and their suggestions. Creating jobs that work for young women will help them make full use of their talents and support the growth business and Government want to see. I hope that in the not too distant future, the UK makes steps for reform and we’re able to reimagine the way that we work.

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