Part-time work should not mean low pay or low ambition

Anna Scott

Back in January, a speech by UKIP leader Nigel Farage to an audience in the City of London made headlines when he claimed that women are paid less and worth less to the financial sector because they make a “lifestyle choice” to have a baby. If female City high-fliers decided not to take any time off after having a baby they were more likely to retain their hard fought contacts and climb further up the career ladder, Farage claimed.

Unsurprisingly his views were met with anger from many working mothers, not least women with children who have risen to the top of their ranks in the male-dominated City. The argument that a successful career in the City is the result of a packed contacts book is simply wrong and ignores the skills and experience that are retained over years and do not vanish while women are on maternity leave.

But it cannot be denied that the presence of women with children at the top of financial sector firms is possible because they can afford a nanny and wrap-around childcare, and do not need to make the 5pm dash to pick up children from nursery or school, to the detriment of their colleagues and careers. So this week’s announcement from government that working families will benefit from a childcare subsidy of up to £2,000 per child is welcome news to lower earners.

But while government wrangles with possible solutions to the cost of childcare, another issue is the lack of senior part-time jobs in the UK economy. According to the TUC, just 6.6% of chief executives and senior officials work part-time. Part-time work offers returning mothers (and others) a way of managing earnings without having to pay a great deal for childcare necessarily, but that is one of the reasons it has become a synonym for low pay and a lack of ambition. If a woman (or man) does not want to be in the office 60 hours a week because they want to spend time with their children – or elderly parents, or indeed for any other reason – then how ambitious and loyal to the organisation are they?

Emma Stewart, co-founder of the Timewise Foundation, a jobsite offering professional-level part-time jobs, says that it is precisely this reason that part-time work needs to be normalised within UK working culture. There are an increasing number of high-profile examples. Stewart highlights Sally Bridgeland, CEO of BP’s Pension Trust, who works five short days a week.

But across the spectrum of the UK workplace, there are an increasing number of organisations recognising that it’s not just parents who want to work flexibly. In fact, people working unusual hours or at home can really benefit organisations that need to manage their clients in other countries, for example.

However, presenteeism is an epidemic in the UK workplace, and in some cases has become synonymous with hard work, loyalty and ambition.  Trying to change the image that part-time work has will be an uphill struggle.