One in three women who provide unpaid care for sick or disabled family members or friends in Northern Ireland have had to give up their job because of the pressures of caring, according to new research published today. ^[1]

The report from Carers NI and the Women’s Regional Consortium says that a further 28% have been forced to cut their working hours, with nearly three-quarters (73%) losing out on between £500 and over £1,500 per month in wages because of challenges juggling employment with their loved one’s care needs.

Local women say that employer support for staff with unpaid caring roles is a ‘postcode lottery’ and that a lack of workplace rights and reliable community care services can make it impossible for them to stay in their jobs while caring. Trying to juggle the two roles often causes burnout, ill-health and financial strain.

The research report calls for a new day-one right to flexible working and dedicated carer’s leave, as well as better community care, education and childcare services, to help women in Northern Ireland balance their caring responsibilities with employment.

Angela Phillips, of Carers NI, and Siobhán Harding, of the Women’s Regional Consortium, co-authored the research. They said:

Too many women across Northern Ireland are being forced out of the labour market because of a postcode lottery of support for their caring roles. This isn’t just robbing them of the careers they cherish and the income they rely on to make ends meet, but also denies Northern Ireland’s economy a skilled and experienced workforce with a lot to offer. It isn’t enough to leave the support working carers need to the discretion of employers, so we need new rights, enshrined in law, that will give them flexible working options and time off for unpaid caring. Robust community care and childcare systems are also vital. Delivering all of these reforms should be a priority for Stormont if it is serious about delivering equality for women with caring roles and growing the local economy.”

Notes to editors

1. Career or care: Women, unpaid caring and employment in Northern Ireland is published by Carers NI and the Women’s Regional Consortium. It is based on a survey of 546 women with unpaid caring roles in Northern Ireland and a series of focus groups with 50 women with caring roles from NI. 
2. There are over 220,000 people providing unpaid care for sick or disabled family members and friends in Northern Ireland. Over 130,000 are women, representing nearly two-thirds (59%) of Northern Ireland’s unpaid carer population.
3. Carers NI is Northern Ireland’s membership charity for unpaid carers. We work to represent and support the over 220,000 people in Northern Ireland who provide unpaid care for ill, older or disabled family members or friends – fighting for increased recognition and support for all carers and to ensure they have a voice in policymaking.
4. The Women’s Regional Consortium is made up of seven established women’s sector organisations: Foyle Women’s Information Network, Women’s Resource and Development Agency, Training for Women Network, Women’s Support Network, NI Rural Women’s Network (NIRWN), WOMEN’STEC and The Women’s Centre Derry. The Consortium works in partnership with statutory and governmental agencies and local women’s organisations, centres and groups to ensure that women on the ground in disadvantaged and rural areas are receiving support to meet their needs and having their views heard.