Employers in ‘future-focused’ industries risk alienating women from low-income backgrounds if they do not change their working practices to accommodate people with caring responsibilities.
A report from innovation experts Challenge Works found that almost two-thirds of businesses in emerging industries such as technology and green energy risk forcing women out of their organisations because of the way they operate.
Asked what they look for when hiring, 81% of businesses in emerging sectors said they look for employees who can work full time and 73% wanted people who could work in the office at all times. Eighty-two per cent required candidates to commit to long working hours, and 74% said their training takes place at fixed times.
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Challenge Works’ Pathways to Progress report suggests that these attitudes and restraints on working hours and location inhibit employers’ ability to incentivise the participation of women on lower incomes, who are more likely to have childcare responsibilities.
Two-thirds of women from lower-income households with children say that businesses have to change their attitudes towards flexible work for the workplace to be accessible.
Twenty-nine per cent of working women from low-income backgrounds with children fear they will have to stop work due to caring responsibilities in the future.
Teodora Chis, researcher at Challenge Works and lead author for the report said: “Starting the conversation about supporting employees with care duties is just one step in tackling barriers for women from lower-income backgrounds when it comes to future-focused jobs.
“Our report identified numerous challenges, which, beyond care duties, include better funding for training and improved hiring and employee support practices. In order to overcome these, we need to see not only changing attitudes but also policy, alongside innovative practices throughout the training, recruitment and employment journey.”
Women on low incomes perceived transitioning to a role in a future-focused industry as high risk. People in this group are likely to be more risk-averse because they are more likely to face immediate pressures and constraints.
The report said that in order to enable women from low-income backgrounds to transition into a future-focused career, employers will need to adjust qualification requirements and job design to become more flexible, accommodate
on-the-job learning, and tailor recruitment strategies to actively target a more diverse pool of applicants.
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It recommended that employers:
- use human-centred design to tailor their jobs to the needs of women on low incomes
- account for caring responsibilities when designing training programmes, services and jobs
- improve EDI strategies
- facilitate learning and career coaching at scale.
Stephanie Mestrallet, executive director global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase, which supported the report, said: “When women from low-income communities are integrated into the workforce, it has a ripple effect for generations to come. For a more inclusive economy, it is crucial that we ensure these workers have access to the resources and tools they need to compete for and thrive in quality jobs.”
