Yahoo Finance Why the stigma around part-time work damages women's careers
With the costs of childcare reaching unprecedented levels, it’s no wonder the demand for part-time work is growing. For parents, working two or three days a week is the only way to stay within the workforce without paying full-time nursery fees. And for others, going part-time is the best way to look after their health while earning a living. Yet despite this, part-time work is still widely stigmatised – and those who work fewer hours are looked upon as less committed, lazy or unambitious.
Women are more likely than men to be working part-time, and the reasons for working part-time are highly gendered. At the end of 2022, 37.8% of women in employment were working part-time, while the proportion of men working part-time has hovered around 13% since 2010, according to the flexible working advocacy organisation Timewise. Women predominantly work fewer days to have the best of both worlds – to keep working, keep childcare costs down, and hang out with their children. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to reduce their hours for their health.
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The benefits of part-time work are clear. It gives people the flexibility to stay in work, allows employers to retain talent and boosts the economy. But a recent survey of more than 4,000 people found that half believed part-time working to limit career progression – and men were more likely than women to report seeing part-time workers as less ambitious.
But with flexible work so essential to many, why is it still stigmatised?
Part-time work versus hustle culture
Historically, workplace structures have been designed around full-time working hours, says Chantal Gautier, a psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Westminster. And therefore, any challenge to these established norms are normally met with scepticism.
“Stigma may lead to the perception that part-time working mums are less committed or serious about their careers,” she explains. “The stigma surrounding part-time work may add an extra layer of stress and guilt, making it difficult for women to navigate the delicate balance between work and family life.”
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Part-time work also goes against our hustle culture narrative, which sees constant busyness as critical to career growth and self-worth. Although workers are beginning to push back against the rise-and-grind in favour of a better work-life balance, we still tend to glorify working long hours to succeed.
This pressure to work all hours can lead to part-time workers feeling inadequate, which can affect their professional and personal wellbeing. It can also contribute to imposter syndrome, too.
More work, less pay, fewer opportunities
Alongside stigma, part-time work can be a double-edged sword. Being able to work reduced or compressed hours is essential for women to stay in work, but it can also hold them back too.
One of the common misconceptions about part-time workers is that they do less – but this isn’t true. Anecdotally, many part-time workers report cramming as much as possible into their three working days a week – and end up doing the same amount of work as their full-time colleagues, but for less money.
Claire*, who works in PR, says being able to work part-time has been both a blessing and a curse. “On the one hand, I’m able to have a career while spending two days a week with my kids,” she says. “But I’m also expected to do as much as I was doing when I was full-time – and I’m on a pro-rata salary, so I’m earning less.”
Additionally, many employers still don’t see part-time work as a viable option for senior positions, which means there is a limited range of higher-paid, part-time opportunities. This means many part-time workers end up trapped in low-paid roles with little chance of progression.
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Worryingly, research has found that even women who were in senior positions who wanted to return to work part-time after maternity leave have had to downgrade jobs – and work well below their abilities.
Removing the stigma of part-time work
Crucially, though, the problems associated with part-time work aren’t due to the work arrangement itself. Rather, it’s about our perception of it as being ‘lesser’ than full-time work, as well as outdated and toxic views surrounding motherhood.
But with more people wanting to reduce their hours – the volume of people wanting part-time work outnumbering part-time vacancies four-to-one – it’s essential that we dismantle the stigma surrounding part-time work. This requires a cultural shift within organisations and broader society. Employers need to normalise part-time working, make senior roles more flexible - for example, by offering part-time options or job shares – and challenge the image of part-time work as being something only mothers do.
“This involves challenging prevailing stereotypes, advocating for flexible and inclusive work arrangements, fostering environments that support a work-life balance, and recognising the inherent value that all individuals, including part-time workers, contribute to the workforce,” says Gautier.
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