Young mothers in Scotland are ambitious, capable, and determined to work and build better futures for themselves and their children. But, they have to navigate systems that are poorly aligned with the realities of being a young mother. Poverty, occupational segregation, childcare barriers, inflexible work, and discrimination are restricting their choices, new research by Close the Gap and Save the Children Scotland has found.
The research report, called Strengths not Stigma: Research on fair work for young mothers, explores young mothers’ (aged 16-25) experiences of paid work and what shapes their access to fair work. It draws on interviews with 32 young mothers, a survey of 281 Scottish employers, official labour market data, and a review of existing evidence.
The first of its kind, this research finds that young mothers see paid work and learning as routes to income, independence, confidence and wellbeing, as well as better futures for their children. Yet their ability to realise these ambitions are constrained by a combination of structural barriers.
Children in households where the mother is under 25 experience the highest poverty rate of all Scottish Government priority family groups, at 55% and around 42% of young mothers experience in-work poverty.
The research highlights that simply being in paid work is not enough to lift families out of poverty. For employment to provide a genuine route out of poverty, work needs to be secure, adequately paid and flexible enough to fit around caring responsibilities.
Young mothers taking part in the research described navigating trade-offs involving childcare costs eating into wages, having to prioritise immediate income over further study, lack of workplace flexibility reducing opportunities for progression, and higher income from additional working hours potentially reducing financial support available to them.
These barriers can combine to leave young mothers with limited choices about the work and learning opportunities available to them. Experiences of barriers are often intensified for lone mothers, disabled young mothers, young mothers affected by domestic abuse, care experienced young mothers, racially minoritised and migrant young mothers, and mothers of disabled children or children with additional support needs.
The report calls for coordinated action from the Scottish and UK Governments, employers and trade unions to address these barriers and ensure young mothers are able to fulfil their ambitions and thrive in paid work.
The report has been developed alongside young mothers in our group of Research and Campaign Advisers, whose experiences and ideas have helped shape both the research and its recommendations.
Key recommendations include:
- Putting young mothers at the heart of child poverty and fair work policy, including through a young mothers’ lived experience advisory group.
- Providing more affordable, flexible and inclusive childcare, including a universal funded entitlement of 50 hours a week for children aged six months and over.
- Increasing Scottish Child Payment immediately to at least £40 a week, rising to £55 by the end of this Parliament, to help reduce financial pressure on young families.
- Ensuring fair, secure and flexible work, including a Real Living Wage, secure hours and a ‘default yes’ approach to flexible working.
- Tackling discrimination, stigma and assumptions about young mothers’ ambition, reliability and commitment in the workplace.
- Ensuring employment, education and employability support are designed around young mothers’ experiences, rather than expecting them to fit into systems that were not designed with them in mind.
Anna Ritchie Allan Executive Director, from Lead Partner, Close the Gap, said:
“This research shows that Scotland's labour market is systematically failing young mothers, who are pushed into insecure, low-paid work, denied the flexibility they need, and often judged rather than supported.
"Having a job is not the same as being able to build a secure future. Low pay, inadequate childcare support, and inflexible working are locking young mothers into poverty, even when they're working.
"None of this is inevitable - it's the result of policymaking and workplace practice that don't reflect young mothers' lives, and hit hardest those who are single parents, disabled, affected by domestic abuse, and racially minoritised. Young mothers need secure hours, decent pay and childcare they can rely on, not jobs that ask them to choose between earning and caring.”
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland at Save the Children Scotland, said:
“Young mothers are ambitious, capable and determined to build a better future for themselves and their children. But too often, the systems around them are making that harder than it needs to be.
“Too often being in work does not prevent young mothers and their children from poverty. If Scotland is determined about tackling child poverty, we must remove the barriers young mums face to fair work - from insecure jobs and inflexible hours to unaffordable childcare and support that does not fit the realities of family life.
“Young mothers have told us what needs to change. Now Government, policymakers, employers, trade unions and charities need to listen and must act together, with young mothers, to turn these recommendations into reality, so that becoming a young mum never means having to put your ambitions on hold.”
As part of the project, these young mothers have also created a campaign to raise other young mothers’ awareness of their rights in the workplace.
The organisations are calling on policymakers, employers and trade unions to recognise young mothers as a group with significant potential and ensure that the systems around work, childcare, education and social security support rather than restrict their choices.
Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eDeXK8jz
Executive Summary report here: https://lnkd.in/eZrZyNxE
ENDS
Notes to editors
The report, Strengths not Stigma: Research on fair work for young mothers, has been produced by Close the Gap and Save the Children Scotland as part of the Fair Work for Young Mothers Project.
The research brings together:
- a review of existing literature and evidence;
- official labour market data;
- interviews with 32 young mothers; and
- a survey of 281 Scottish employers.
The research examines young mothers’ participation in paid work and the factors shaping their access to fair work.
The employment rights campaign has been developed with young mothers involved in the project and aims to raise other young mothers’ awareness of their rights in the workplace.
Close the Gap
Close the Gap is Scotland’s policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation.
We have been working with policymakers, employers, and trade unions for 25 years to influence and enable action that will address the causes of women’s inequality at work. Our vision is for a Scotland where all women have a good working life.
Save the Children Scotland
Save the Children Scotland works with children, families and partners in communities across Scotland to challenge poverty, tackle and prevent the drivers of poverty, and reduce its impact on children and families.
We amplify the voices and experiences of children, young people, parents, and communities, creating opportunities for people to challenge poverty and be part of finding solutions.