Leonard, Madeleine

Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)

Women a n d  Work in West Belfast by Madeleine Leonard Cet artick anaIyse ks tentatives a5 regJnPrer Be&t Ouest en crJant &S ouverturespour&s emphispfusfucraft~ pour ks femmes et &S hommes & ce quartier a5 ka v i h .  Male unemployment T h e  ongoing - - p#+@ nrr m n r m n r # c  c on the Lives oj W peace process has ,..- ..-V.N -)train . .. ,. led to renewed in- 'omen ternational inter- who have to manage est in the politi- housebold resources. cal, economic, and social prob- lems facing areas like West Belfast. Decades of dis- crimination and injustice exacerbated by 25 years of political and military conflict have been highlighted and sensationalized by the international media and in the process the every- day issues facing women living in such areas have been rendered banal and mundane. Yet, if real progress is to be made in Northern Ireland, if the much talked about economic re- generation is to have any meaningful impact on the lives of women, then the seemingly prosaic problems fac- ing many women need to be seri- ously addressed. This article is an attempt to put some of these issues on tothe agenda for future action. While undoubtedly there exist clear major differences in the political as- pirations of many of those living in Northern Ireland compared to the rest ofthe United Kingdom, anumber of additional economic, social, and cultural factors separate those living in Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. For example, Northern Ireland has consistently endured the highest rate of long- term unemployment and the lowest per capita income in the United King- dom. The region also has the highest birth rate (Compton and Coward), the poorest child care services (Hinds), the lowest divorce rate (McWilliams and McKiernan), the highest church attendance and reli- gious observance (Cairns), and the most traditional moral codes and so- cial norms directing sexual behaviour and birth control (Sneddon and Kremer). All these issues have a direct impact on the lives ofwomen. Over recent years, feminists have uncovered the increasing trend to- wards the feminization of poverty. This involves the recognition that women bear the brunt of poverty in many societies. Male unemployment and the accompanyingeconomicdep- rivation puts an enormous strain on the domestic lives of women who have to manage household resources on limited means. West Belfast suf- fers disproportionately from high long-term male unemployment. Around 30 per cent of the economi- cally active male population are out of employment. In some districts, this figure can reach as high as 70  per cent (Leonard 1994). Poverty and ill- health are often associated with such high rates ofunemployment. In West Belfast, 43 per cent of households do not own their own home. In some areas, 95 per cent of the population do not own their own home. Only 33 per cent of households in West Bel- fast are car owners. These factors in- dicate a significant level of depriva- tion. Indeed, 12 of the 16 more de- prived regions in the Belfast area are located in West Belfast. Such depri- vation affects the general health ofthe population of the area. Almost 14 per cent of the population in West Bel- fast suffer from long-term illness. In- deed, seven per cent of the working- age population are unemployed be- cause of disability (Gaffikin and Morrissey). These adverse health out- comes have particular negative con- sequences for children. Along with North Belfast, West Belfast has the highest rate of infant mortality in Northern Ireland at 1 1.9 per 1,000. Furthermore, 23.1 per cent of all children suffering from long-term ill- ness or disability live in West Belfast (Gaffikin and Morrissey). These shocking statistics are submerged in the reporting of the political conflict which has plagued Northern Ireland for the past two and a half decades. What consequences do these reali- ties have for women who live in West Belfast? As primary caregivers of chil- dren, the sick, and the elderly, women disproportionately become involved in providing care for others inside and outside the household compared to their male counterparts. This in turn has asignificant impact on wom- en's employment prospects compared to men. By fulfilling stereotypical gender expectations concerning who should care for others in the house- hold and community, women weaken their already vulnerable employment - .  position in the labour market. There is a widespread consensus among the British and Irish govern- ments that access to formal employ- ment must play a key role in the economic regeneration of Northern - Ireland and in particular, disadvan- taged areas such as West Belfast. Access to formal employment must play a key role in the economic regeneration of Northern Ireland However, a single-minded focus on formal employment opportunities as the only route to economic recovery is in danger of distorting or under- mining the considerable important economic contribution that women perform outside the realm of formal employment. This is clearly seen in the area of caring for others which is often seen as an extension of the VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 rnother-housewife role and is subse- quently taken-for-granted or consist- ently dismissed as non-work and wrongly categorized as having no eco- nomic value. The enormous drain on the resources of the welfare system when such care has to be provided on a formal basis for those with no access to caring females graphically illus- trates the fallacy of this view. In my research into the informal economic activities of males and females in one Rita Duffy, "Two Women, Ormeau Avenue, " charcoal on paper, 1200 X 900 cm, 1989. area of high long-term unernploy- ment in West Belfast, I uncovered a host of examples to indicate the fun- damental economic role women play in maintaining the survival of low- income households (Leonard 1994). Women adopted a range of informal economic practices in order to make ends meet yet statistically these women were categorized as economi- cally inactive. Amore informed aware- ness of women's vital economic role within the household could poten- tially lead to more sensitive policies being advocated which would reflect the needs and concerns ofwomen in low-income households. However, as long as economic regeneration con- tinues to be seen in terms of a return to a male model of formal (uninter- rupted) employment, women's po- tential economic contribution may be kept off the policy agenda or rel- egated to a minor concern. If we do adopt a recovery model based on encouraging women to be- come involved in formal employ- ment, then a number of factors must be addressed which often impede the opportunities women have to partici- pate in the formal labour market. Women living with men who are unemployed are discouraged from taking up formal employment by welfare policies which penalize the family's entitlements to welfare ben- efits if a woman becomes formally employed. These policies ensnare some families in poverty traps. In some cases, the woman's income, if declared, is deducted in full from the amount payable to the family and this has theeffect ofthewoman "work- ing for nothing." The corollary of such policies are that women are de- terred from seeking formal employ- ment or encouraged to work off-the- books where such opportunities be- come available. This in turn makes some women vulnerable to highly - .  exploitative, low-paid work. The re- search I carried out in West Belfast (Leonard 1992) revealed that some firms, particularly contract cleaning organizations, deliberately recruit women from areas with high levels of long-term male unemployment. The women interviewed by me in 1990 worked off-the-record, during unso- - cial hours, in very unfavourable em- ployment conditions, and in some cases were paid less than half the recommended minimum wage. Hence, the movement towards the creation of formal employment op- portunities for women needs to be accompanied by more flexible wel- fare benefits regulations which move away from policies that penalize fami- lies who attempt to overcome their precarious economic situation. Perhaps the greatest barrier pre- ventingwomen from benefiting fully from an increase in formal job vacan- cies is the lack of formal child care services in Northern Ireland gener- ally and the persistence of traditional attitudes concerning who does what within the household. The U.K. has been identified as one of the three countries with the lowest levels of publicly-funded child care services, the other two being Ireland and the Netherlands (Moss). Hinds points out that within the U.K., Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of formal provision making Northern Ireland one of the most disadvantaged re- gions of the European Union for child care facilities. This leads many women in Northern Ireland to expe- rience discontinuous employment and downward mobility on becom- ing mothers. Drawing on a survey into women's working lives commis- sioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1990, Turner reports that ofthe 253 women utilizing some form of child care provision, only eleven per cent used formal daycare and nursery groups. The majority of women, 60 per cent of the sample, relied informally on family network members. The survey further revealed that child care is by no means shared between partners. Seven per cent of fathers with children under 16 had never fed their children in the moth- ers' absence, 21 per cent had never got up to see to a child during the night, and 22 per cent had never washed or bathed their children. These statistics indicate that shared child care remains an elusive goal. In most households, men's role was that of helper rather than equal partner. Child care duties seemed optional for men but obligatory for women. Early research in the United States and the U.K. predicted that the em- ployment of women outside the household would significantly alter the sexual division of labour within the household. However, studies in the Northern Ireland context, which have focused on the domestic divi- sion of labour in the home have sug- gested, with few exceptions, that men 50 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME have made inconsequential inroads into domestic labour with women continuing to take primary responsi- bility for home and family (Montgomery and Davies; Mont- gomery). While there was more par- ticipation of men in housework in households where both partners were in full-time employment orwere unemployed, in few households was such work equally shared. In Mont- gomery's overall sample, for exam- ple, 71 per cent ofwomen stated that they carried out all or most of the housework with only a quarter stat- ing that household duties were shared with their partners. A survey of one in four households in one estate in West Belfast which I carried out in 1990 (Leonard 1994) backed up the dismal findings of the research reported above. The survey was concerned with examining the range of economic activities, both formal and informal, carried out within and outside the household. Only a quarter of the women inter- viewed worked formally or informally outside the home mainly in part- time, low-paid, traditional gender- specific occupations. In the majority of cases, the women combined their employment duties with responsibil- ity for the home and family. Male unemployment had little impact on involvement in household duties. In households where males had experi- enced long-term unemployment, there was little indication of any meaningful renegotiation of the do- mestic division of labour. Rather, in the absence of traditional male for- mal employment opportunities, many men were reluctant to further dilute their perceived male status by becoming involved in domestic chores to any significant degree. At- tempts to restore male employment levels may have little impact on the help given to women within the household as existing male participa- tion is negligible. However, attempts to encourage women to become part of the formal labour force may result in women becoming over burdened with combining the visible work car- ried out in the formal economy with their continued invisible responsibili- ties within the household. Providing effective formal job op- portunities for women necessitates challenging domestic and child care roles within the household. To ig- nore the division of labour in the household and the primary responsi- bility of women for child care is to make a mockery of attempts to equal- ize formal job opportunities for men and women. The lack of affordable, flexible, and accessible child care re- mains a major obstacle preventing women from accessing the training, education, and employment provi- sions that exist. Unless formal em- ployment opportunities for women are accompanied by the provision of suitable child care arrangements, then equality of opportunity in employ- ment for women in West Belfast will remain elusive and women will con- tinue to have only an illusion ofchoice over whether to remain at home or avail themselves of the opportunities the labour market has to offer. These issues are important because the current focus on economic regen- eration tends to be concerned solely with advocating more jobs for the men and women ofwest Belfastwhile simultaneously ignoring thesocial and cultural conditions under which both men and women become available for work. Often, these conditions have little to do with politics but are rooted instead in the survival of traditional attitudes concerning appropriate roles for men and women in society. It is these attitudes that need to be chal- lenged in any movement towards a new agenda for Northern Ireland. In the absence of any significant debate concerning the roles and responsi- bilities of men and women both within and outside the household, even the most optimistic forecast of an economic dividend for Northern Ireland will result in a shallow victory for many women. Madekine Leonard is a kcturer in So- ciology at Queen? University Belfast. Her research interests include women and work and mature female students in higher education. References Cairns, E. "Is Northern Ireland a Conservative Society." SocialAtti- tudes in Northern Ireland: 1990/ 1991 Edition. Eds. P. Stringer and G. Robinson. Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1991. Compton, P., and J. Coward. Fertil- ity in Northern Ireland. Aldershot: Gower, 1989. Gaffikin, F., and M. Morrissey. A Tak of One City? North and West Belfast. Belfast: Urban Institute, 1996. Hinds, B. "Women and Social Policy in Northern Ireland." Child Care Provision andEmployment. Belfast: Gingerbread, 1989. Leonard, M. "The Modern Cinder- ellas: Women and the Contract Cleaning Industry in Belfast." Women and Working Lives: Divi- sionsand Change. Eds. S. Arber and N. Gilbert. London: Macmillan, 1992. Leonard, M. Infrmal Economic Ac- tivity in Beyat. Aldershot: Avebury, 1994. McWilliams, M., and J. McKiernan. Bringing It Out In the Open: Do- mestic Vio fence in Northern Ireland. Belfast: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1993. Montgomery, P. "Paid and Unpaid Work." Women? Working Lives. Eds. J .  Krerner andP. Montgomery. Belfast: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1993. Montgomery, P., and C. A. Davies. "Woman's Place in Northern Ire- land." SocialAttitudes in Northern Ireland: 1990/1991 Edition. Eds. P. Stringer and G. Robinson. Bel- fast. Blackstaff Press, 199 l. Moss, P. Child Care and Equality of Opportunity. Brussels: CEC, 1988. Sneddon, I., and J. Kremer.  sand the Moral Climate." Social Atti- tudes in Northern Ireland 1990/ 1991 Edition. Eds. P. Stringer and G. Robinson. Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 199 1. Turner, I. "Child Care." Women ? Working Lives. Eds. J .  Kremer and P. Montgomery. Belfast: HMSO, 1993. VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 

Women and Work in West Belfast

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Women and Work in West Belfast

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Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)