So, just as many mothers make career compromises for flexibility, they may be compromising for location too. And the link between such compromises and the gender pay gap is well known.
New figures show that women’s commuting time tends to fall significantly after the birth of their first child, which in turn may have an impact on female progression and the gender pay gap. The answer? More, better, remote and flexible working.
By Emma Stewart MBE, Co-Founder
By now, we should all be familiar with the gender pay gap; and here at Timewise we are pretty clear about the role that flexible working can play in closing it. But new figures from the ONS have highlighted another work-related discrepancy between men and women: the length of their commutes.
As the figures show, women are more likely than men to commute for 15 minutes or less, and men are more likely than women to commute for more than an hour. In stark terms, the longer the commute, the more likely it is that it will be made by men. And according to the IFS, this ‘gender commuting gap’ really kicks in in the decade after women have their first child.
Does it matter? Shouldn’t women with a shorter commute just be grateful that they don’t have to sit through traffic or squeeze onto a packed train? Well, no. Whilst no one relishes a long journey to work, the implications of these numbers aren’t good for women – and nor are they good for employers.
The fact that the gender commuting gap widens significantly after childbirth suggests that when women become mothers, they feel they need to work closer to home. This isn’t surprising; after all, given the costs and typical opening hours of childcare, not to mention the emotional side of parenthood, every minute counts.
But as a result, these women are likely to be choosing from a smaller pool of jobs, and so may have to settle for one that doesn’t match their skills or offer proper career progression. We know, for example, that proximity to home is the number one reason for working in retail; we also know that part-time progression within this sector is not widely available (though that’s something we are working to change).
So, just as many mothers make career compromises for flexibility, they may be compromising for location too. And the link between such compromises and the gender pay gap is well known.
What’s more, ongoing growth in the cost of housing is forcing people to live further and further away from their workplaces, especially ones based in city centres. So the number of women who feel they have to take a lower quality local job is only likely to increase.
This creates a particular squeeze for low to middle income families, already struggling with the cost of housing and childcare, who are missing out on the potential for higher earnings, even if they have the skills and experience employers need.
Of course, as with gender pay, it isn’t just employees who are affected by the gender commuting gap. The knock-on effect of mothers ruling themselves out of working in certain areas is to shrink the pool of potential talent available to employers. Inevitably, this will make it harder for them to recruit brilliant women, and to keep the ones they have.
The gender commuting gap can have a negative impact on issues such as workplace diversity, equality and board-level representation. It’s likely to increase the risk of groupthink and limit the presence of role models which could inspire junior colleagues. All of which points one way: towards a too-wide gender pay gap.
Yet the solution is staring us all in the face. If the commute is a barrier, why not take it away, for some of the week at least? This could be achieved by setting employees up to work remotely for at least part of the time, or by creating more quality part-time jobs. Or, in the best of worlds, a combination of both.
By doing so, employers may be able to tempt more mothers to take on a longer commute for a better job, knowing that they won’t have to do it every day. And by extending the same patterns to fathers, the role of ‘close-to-home parent’ might be shared more equally.
Of course, it’s not simply a case of doling out a laptop and setting up a Skype account, or chopping a day off someone’s working week. Introducing successful remote working and creating quality part-time jobs does take thought and planning (which we would be happy to help with).
But the technology that makes remote working possible exists, and the business case for flexible working is clear. It’s time business delivered.
Published December 2018
