Meet the WM People Chair
Patricia Taylor is joining our umbrella company WM People as chair of the board of...read more
Parents of younger children are more likely to work full time than those with children at primary or secondary school, according to workingmums.co.uk’s annual survey.
Parents of preschoolers are more likely to more full time than those of primary or secondary school children, according to an analysis of workingmums.co.uk’s annual survey.
The survey of over 3,000 parents, most of whom are mums, showed a quarter with preschool children worked full time with no flexibility and a third worked full time with some flexibility. This compared to 20% of primary school parents who worked full time with no flexibility and 29% who worked full time with some flexibility.
Parents with children at secondary school were the most likely to work part time – 44% worked part time compared with 37% of parents of preschool children. Twenty-two per cent of parents of secondary school children worked full time with no flexibility and 29% worked full time with some flexibility.
This fits in part with the ONS survey out this week which shows how working patterns have changed over time with mums more likely to work these days than not and more of them working full time. A large part of this is due to financial pressures, but flexible working has also made it more possible.
The survey figures also show, unsurprisingly, that parents of preschool children are the least likely to have progressed their career since having children – just 10% had. The ability to progress your career increases as children grow up, but is still fairly low. Fifty-eight per cent of parents of primary school aged children had not progressed their career since having children and 56% of secondary school parents had not progressed.
There were a lot of parents who felt stuck in the job they were in, with 52% of parents of primary and preschool aged children saying they felt very stuck and 29% and 30% respectively saying they felt somewhat stuck. Forty four per cent of parents of secondary school aged children felt very stuck and 31% felt somewhat stuck.
Interestingly, there was a divergence over what parents of different aged children thought would make more difference in helping them progress their careers: parents of secondary school aged children were more likely to favour more training and less likely than parents of younger children to say more flexible senior roles, although flexible working was the most popular option for all. Just 16% of parents of preschool aged children said more training would help them progress compared to 60% who said more flexible working, particularly in more senior roles. The figures were similar for parents of primary school aged children, but a quarter of parents of secondary school aged parents favoured more training.
We all know that single parents are likely to face more challenges balancing childcare responsibilities as they don’t have a partner to share... read more
Two out of three zero-hours contract workers have been with their current employer for over a year, according to analysis by the TUC, which says this... read more
Bella Hignett talks about how she turned her passion for clothes and style into a career. read more
A new report from EY shows a worrying decrease in the appointment of female board directors at UK financial services firms over the last year, while a... read more