The idea that women who return to part-time work after breaks in employment generally find themselves over-qualified for their role is a myth, a government report will claim next month.
The DTI report will show that women returning to the labour market are only over-qualified for their job in five areas. These are administrative, secretarial, sales, caring and service occupations.
Wendy Olsen, gender pay expert at the University of Manchester and one of the report’s authors, said: “We didn’t find general levels of over-qualification; it was mainly restricted to these five areas.”
The report contradicts the findings of research by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), published in February this year.
Part Time Is No Crime – So Why The Penalty? claimed more than half of the UK’s part-time workers were in jobs that they felt failed to capitalise on their qualifications, skills and previous management experience.
