Challenges in combining work and care: Evidence from investigating women’s work in Leeds

an article by Sue Yeandle and Viktoria Joynes (University of Leeds, UK) published in Local Economy Volume 27 Number 8 (December 2012)

Abstract

Using official data and other evidence about the people and economy of the city of Leeds, England, and focusing on one decade, the 2000s, this article considers employment trends and policy developments relevant to parents’ and carers’ capacity to combine work and care.

Highlighting the dynamic nature of labour supply and demand in the Leeds local labour market, the article examines the impact of developments in the local infrastructure of support for caring and parenting and the availability and level of social security and welfare.

The discussion explores the extent to which a decade of unprecedented policy attention to childcare and caring affected the challenges facing parents and carers who wish to combine work and care, and asks whether the progress achieved is likely to be sustainable in a following decade of economic austerity.

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