Women -- employment

This study addressed various groups of non-employed/employed and non-caring/caring women in Taiwan. Data from the 2006 National Taiwanese Women Survey (at age 16–64, n= 6,017) were analysed to determine whether there are differences in terms of well-being, as measured by self-rated health and family life satisfaction, between women who work and/or care and between different carer groups. Other factors associated with well-being of carers of young children (n= 1,697) were also analysed.

Our goal in this article is to contribute to a differentiated analysis of paid caring work by considering whether and how women's experiences of such work is shaped by their employment status (for example, self-employed versus employee) and the nature of care provided (direct or indirect). Self-employed care workers have not been widely studied compared with other types of care workers, such as employees providing domestic or childcare in private firms or private homes. Yet their experiences may be quite distinct.

Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were used to study the order of events leading to informal caregiving and changes in labour force participation in mid-aged women, taking into account health and socioeconomic status. This analysis included 9857 women who responded to the third (2001) and fourth (2004) surveys and provided data for the caring and employment variables used. Caring was defined as providing care for an ill, frail or disabled person at least 7 h/wk. Between 2001 and 2004, the proportion of women caring increased from 12 to 14%.

In the United Kingdom, informal carers look after relatives or friends who need extra support because of age, physical or learning disability, or illness. The burden of informal care work falls on women, who often care for longer hours and durations than men. This paper considers the impact that caring responsibilities have on women's employment. The research is based on a dedicated questionnaire and in-depth interviews with informal caregivers.

This paper reviews the work-family policy of Bulgaria before and after the transition. Before the transition the family policy was one of earner–carer where women were given support to combine work-force participation with childcare and men were at least encouraged to help with carework. After the transition women's access to help with carework became so limited that the family policy, by default, became one of dual earner, but with extremely high levels of unemployment.

This paper assesses some of the implications of one of the major social changes to have taken place in the West during the second half of the twentieth century — that is, the increased employment of women, together with normative changes in gender relations and in women's expectations. These changes have been linked to an increase in individualism, which itself is associated with the transcendence of ‘first modernity’. Thus it is suggested that new approaches to social analysis are required (Beck).

The impact of caring on the income and labour market participation of carers can be substantial. In this article, the authors describe the labour force status of carers who receive an Australian Government payment directed to carers, with a particular focus on the degree to which non-employed carers want to be in paid employment.

In this paper, we investigate the costs borne by both male and female carers in terms of their forgone formal employment opportunities. Traditionally, informal care was supplied by women but nowadays women are not only more likely to work, but also likely to be significant contributors to family finances. For women, this implies that the size of any forgone earnings cost of informal care is increasing. At the same time, population ageing is making for increasing numbers requiring care.

This paper situates the lives and work of parents who care for children with ongoing health conditions and disabilities — and who also work full time — within the context of their workplace. Caring responsibilities of parents, especially mothers, are underscored. Interruptions to the working day may be required due to various professional and medical consultations, hospitalisations or treatment regimens.