Employment is commonly regarded, across the political spectrum, as the best route out of poverty. Paradoxically, the number of people in in-work poverty in the UK is currently at a record high, as is the number of children in poverty living in a house where at least one adult is in work. Women comprise the majority of low paid workers, frequently doing “women’s work”, such as cleaning, care and retail - work that is systematically undervalued in the labour market. Women make up a greater percentage of workers in the informal sector and other precarious forms of employment, which tend to lie outside the horizon of labour regulations and are therefore more prone to forms of exploitation.

Does having multiple jobs reduce women’s poverty? For many people, multiple jobs mean multiple wages, but frequently this results in low wages for demanding and insecure labour. Whilst some people working multiple jobs can find it lucrative, earning a decent living, others are forced to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet – and even then, they struggle to survive – which demonstrates an increasingly irrational and lopsided labour market, making the relationship between multiple jobs and poverty far from clear.

Time for work and play? While the policy focus for a healthy working life is on a better work-life balance, flexible working and a four-day week, many women working multiple jobs are not afforded such opportunities and can be working lengthy or unpredictable working weeks and extended days in unfavourable conditions. The “double burden” of work for many women means they are more likely than men to take on most of the unpaid work in the home, have caring responsibilities and therefore face the additional pressure of finding work that allows them to balance earning with caring. This sees women further concentrated into low paid and insecure work, as most part-time work is found in the lowest paid jobs and sectors.

At this webinar we will share early findings from the study “Women in Multiple Low-paid Employment, Pathways Between Work, Care and Health”, funded by the Nuffield Foundation (2021-2024). This study is the first to explore the nature and extent of women’s multiple low-paid employment (MLPE) in the UK using mixed methods.

A Woman’s Work is Never Done: Multiple Low-paid Employment, Time & Poverty