The impact of youth labour market experiences on later employment opportunities: what roles do ethnicity and gender play?

Youth joblessness often leaves a scar. However, some ethnic groups appear to be more successful in recovering from this than others. Using a unique dataset (ONS Longitudinal Study) linking census records for a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales, we examine the relationship between early labour market experiences and later employment outcomes for men and women from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Caribbean origins to those of white British individuals. Our results show that, on average, being unemployed or inactive in youth (vs being employed or in education) reduces employment opportunities later in life. However, this varies greatly by ethnicity and gender: Indian and, especially, Bangladeshi men are substantively less affected by previous non-employment compared with white British men; for women, having an ethnic minority background continues to limit their labour market integration. Addressing gender and ethnic labour market inequalities requires a more nuanced understanding of how these disadvantages unfurl over time for different communities

From evidence to action: applying gender mainstreaming to pay gaps in the Welsh public sector

Progress on reducing gender disparities remains painfully slow, despite efforts to identify the determinants of gender pay gaps and specify size and shape. Recent studies highlight the need for a more nuanced account of the way that public policy shapes organizational responses and insights into the types of organizational practices that diminish pay disparities. In response, this research reports on an action research intervention in three large Welsh public organizations, subject to a unique statutory equality duty. Data demonstrate how an evidence‐based gender mainstreaming approach facilitated the development of a ‘no blame’ strategy, which legitimized organizational proactivity through collaborative and empowering change management processes. The research contributes to the study of gender pay gaps by demonstrating that gender mainstreaming, with facilitative local conditions and supportive public policy, shapes action on gender segregation, with particular success in women's low‐paid employment. Conclusions highlight theoretical and policy implications arising from the research

Everyday self-defence: Hollaback narratives, habitus and resisting street harassment

Street harassment is recognised as an ‘everyday’ form of violence against women. Influenced by contemporary sociologies of everyday life, this article examines women responses to street harassment, drawing on over 500 first person narratives submitted to the website of Hollaback London. The narrative structure highlights women’s actions, which (like street harassment) have generally been considered inconsequential. Quantitative content analysis reveals the extent and variety of strategies employed by women, including speaking back, calling on others for help, physically fighting-back, walking away and an array of ‘small’, everyday actions and gestures that aim to resist harassment. I argue that these responses comprise everyday self-defence practice. Furthermore, the notion of narrative habitus is employed to argue that Hollaback narratives do not just describe harassment, but that reading narratives can generate dispositions for self-defence. Narrative analysis reveals the way that satire is employed to make space for women’s successful self-defence. I argue that Hollaback narratives do not just offer storylines or scripts for resisting street harassment but foster a style for doing so. Analysis considers the limits to narratively motivated self-defence. This research demonstrates that, in order to ‘see’ women’s resistance, we need to pay close attention to the everyday as the site of both gendered oppression and moments of liberation

The Experiences of Youth Who Identify as Trans* in Relation to Health and Social Care Needs: A Scoping Review

There is an increased interest in the experiences of youth who identify as trans* to promote individual human rights and provide socially inclusive health and social care. This scoping review aimed to explore the experiences of youth who identify as trans*. A full search of relevant electronic databases was undertaken from the years 2006 to 2016. The search resulted in 1,656 hits and following the application of rigorous criteria, 20 papers were included in the final review. Date extraction was executed by two of the authors and a quality assessment tool was used to review the papers. The data were analyzed, and the key themes that emerged included the following: stigma, discrimination, and mental health; family relationships and supports; educational concerns; health care experiences; and vulnerability and health risks. The findings from the review are discussed, and the implications for policy, research, education, and practice are highlighted

Establishing a 'Corstonian continuous care pathway for drug using female prisoners: Linking Drug Recovery Wings and Womens Community Services

This article outlines the findings from a rapid assessment of pilot Drug Recovery Wings (DRWs) in two women’s prisons and compares the DRW approach with work undertaken in Women’s Community Services (WCSs) commended by the Corston Report. The findings indicate that DRW1 was working more successfully in providing a ‘Corstonian’ approach than DRW2 and the reasons behind this are explored. The article argues that, while pockets of good practice such as WCSs and ‘Corstonian’ DRWs are to be commended, unless there is a continuous care pathway, modelled on Corston’s ideas for working with vulnerable female offenders such as recovering drug users, such work will be limited in its effectiveness. Ideas for how such a systematic approach might work will be outlined