Juggling Childcare and Work: the Challenges Facing Mothers-performers in Scotland

Aleksandra Webb*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Book/ReportOther reportpeer-review

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Abstract

Childcare responsibilities are amongst the most commonly identified drivers of low female participation in the labour market and are also often responsible for stalling the careers of women across occupational contexts and economic sectors. Childcare costs and childcare availability impact mothers the most as they still shoulder the majority of childcare responsibilities. To a large extent, the experiences of ‘mothers-performers’ – i.e. those whose job (fully or partly) involves performing on stages, in concert halls, on radio, or in front of the camera – are similar to those of mothers working in other occupational contexts. However, the difficulties experienced by mothers-performers seem to be intensifed by highly atypical work arrangements, often in the form of self-employment, and with working hours which are often fundamentally incompatible with the standard operating hours of childcare provision. Such incompatibility is a key barrier for mothers in returning to work and maintaining their careers.

This report discusses the impact of childcare responsibilities on the work, careers, and livelihoods of mothers-performers living and working in Scotland. It proposes a range of policy learning points which it is hoped will contribute to the Scottish policy debate in relation to the need for affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare provision.

The lived experience of mothers, as elicited through ten in-depth interviews with mothers-performers undertaken in 2022, highlights multiple access barriers to suitably flexible and affordable childcare. The report also shines a light on the fragility of female artistic careers in the context of systemic difficulties with childcare availability. Experiences conveyed by mothers working in the performing arts and entertainment sector not only demonstrate the shortcomings of the existing childcare system, but also how little flexibility exists in the working patterns within this sector. This lack of flexibility makes it often near impossible to reconcile work with the typical operating hours of childcare provision.

While the work pattern of mothers-performers may be an extreme example of an atypical employment arrangement, it provides useful insights into the realities of employment for many other individuals working in an increasingly casualised labour market. This report can therefore generate important learning points which are relevant to other sectors and employment contexts which also operate outside ‘traditional hours’.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationPaisley
PublisherUWS-Oxfam Partnership
Number of pages27
Publication statusPublished - 21 Dec 2023

Publication series

NameUWS-Oxfam Partnership: Collaborative Research Reports Series
PublisherUWS-Oxfam Partnership

Keywords

  • childcare problem
  • inflexible work
  • barriers to women's work
  • performing arts
  • cultural problems in the arts sector

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