Women ‘twice as likely’ to need time off to look after children due to school closures

Women ‘remain on the sidelines’ of official response to the pandemic, campaigners tell Maya Oppenheim

‘Vulnerable families continue to be disadvantaged’ 

Women are twice as likely to need time off work with no pay to look after children due to schools closing under the government’s new lockdown measures – raising fears the pandemic could worsen gender inequality, a new study has found.

Boris Johnson ordered the closure of all primary and secondary schools across England earlier this week, with schools moving online for all pupils apart from vulnerable children and the offspring of key workers.

The report, carried out by Fawcett Society and Women’s Budget Group, found 15 per cent of mothers say they would have to take time off work while not being paid as a result of schools shutting their doors or their child getting sick, whereas only 8 per cent of fathers reported the same.

While researchers found mothers on the lowest incomes are eight times more at risk of being made redundant because of school closures to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Felicia Willow, interim chief executive of Fawcett Society, said: “Women remain on the sidelines of the government's coronavirus response. We know that there is more to be done to reduce the disproportionate impact of Covid on women, and we urge the government to put women at the centre of its decision-making.”

Around six in 10 fathers report they would be able to work from home during school closures, while only half of mothers said the same.

Researchers found mothers in part-time jobs are substantially more likely to report the need to take time off without pay as a result of schools closing – with 20 per cent saying so, in comparison to 12 per cent of mothers in full-time employment.

Dr Mary Ann Stephenson, director of Women’s Budget Group, noted parents across the country would again find it tough to juggle their work responsibilities and the homeschooling of their children during lockdown.

She added: “Workers can be furloughed due to caring responsibilities and this has helped many parents to keep their jobs during the pandemic. Now that part-time furlough is possible, parents should be able to request to be furloughed and potentially share care responsibilities between themselves.”

Multiple studies discovered women bore the brunt of childcare responsibilities, household chores and homeschooling during the first national lockdown last spring – irrespective of whether they were working or not.

Victoria Benson, chief executive of Gingerbread, the leading charity for single parents, told The Independent many of the 2 million single parent families living in the UK were already struggling with money, but the Covid emergency has exacerbated their situation.

She added: “The government has paid scant attention to the circumstances and needs of single parents – 90 per cent of whom are women. It's about time politicians realised that already vulnerable families continue to be disadvantaged by a disproportionate exposure to hardship and a callous lack of support.

“More than a third of single parents have been furloughed at some point during the pandemic, compared to 25 per cent of couple parents, while many have seen their wages slashed or they may have lost their jobs completely."

The latest research found some 12 per cent of parents earning below £20,000 a year said they would have to take time off work with no pay if schools closed or their children got sick and were forced to self-isolate, in comparison to 7 per cent of parents who take home more than £40,000 a year.

A spokesperson for Engender, a Scottish charity also involved in the study, said: “Women, already overstretched by balancing paid work with domestic roles, are now seeing their unpaid work increasing further with additional childcare and support for remote learning. 

"As we move into another period of lockdown, the Scottish government must ensure that necessary public health measures do not further entrench women's inequality.”

The charity’s research found the “incompatibility” of juggling paid work commitments with homeschooling and childcare has forced women to stop working – with this costing £15m a day in Scotland.

While Alexandra Brennan, of Northern Ireland Women’s Budget Group, said: “We call on the Northern Ireland executive to stop taking advantage of women’s unpaid labour and establish a childcare strategy.”

A total of 4 per cent of parents polled for the study warned they are at risk of losing their job if schools close and no further help is offered for childcare services.

The childcare sector has been plunged into chaos in the wake of the Covid crisis – with a recent study carried out by the Labour Party revealing almost 20,000 childcare providers are at risk of permanently closing their doors within six months due to government funding changes.

In a major blow to childcare services, the government recently changed the funding model for nurseries, childminders and pre-schools to tally up with the sharp reduction in the number of children using providers in the wake of the pandemic.

The funding, which has now been cut, had been stopping many nurseries from going under in a childcare sector which campaigners say has been chronically underfunded by the government for years.