Employment outcomes of caring in England and Wales: a feminist quantitative analysis

In this thesis, I investigate the complexities of the gendered care-employment relationship focusing on factors that contribute to a carer’s labour market participation, such as whether they live with the cared-for person, whether they live in a multigenerational household (MGH), their gender, and their ethnicity. The research is situated in England and Wales using contemporary UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) data ranging from 2009 to 2021 and Census 2021 data. Two quantitative methods are used: Random Effects Within Between (REWB) models, for a longitudinal analysis of carer’s employment the year after becoming a carer or increasing care hours; and logistic regression models with two-way interaction terms stratified by gender, to assess whether there are significant interaction effects between multigenerational living and caring intensity or ethnicity and care intensity.
I highlight the variation in employment outcomes depending on care intensity, location of care, ethnicity, multigenerational living, and gender demonstrating a need for flexible policies to support carers both in and out of employment. There are three overarching themes to the contributions provided: nuance in the care-employment relationship; further complexity in the gendered relationship between care and employment; data and methodological contributions to the field. The findings show that employment outcomes vary depending on whether an individual becomes a co-resident carer or an extra-resident carer. Additionally, employment probability varies for individuals providing different intensities of care in an MGH compared to a non-MGH. This is particularly true of women providing high-intensity care. The research shows differences by ethnicity in the care-employment relationship with Arab, Bangladeshi and Pakistani high-intensity carers having the lowest probability of employment. Throughout this thesis, I analyse how gender dissects the care-employment relationship. The effect of caring appears to be greater for women but this varies depending on type of care provided, multigenerational living, and ethnicity.