- Conference
- 2019 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 24 October 2018
- Decision
- Carried
This Conference Notes that:
It is recognised that the role of women in society has changed dramatically because the changes to The State Pension Age has forced most women to continue working for an extra 6 years.
Statistics show that around 3.34 million women are carers and many women find themselves having caring responsibilities for not just children but for their own parents and other family members.
Many of these women are part of the ‘Sandwich Generation’. They are juggling work and caring responsibilities, often with little support from the state and their employer. Added to the ‘Sandwich Generation’ is a dramatic increase of younger, adult women who are juggling care with work and/or studying.
Within the public sector, employers may have policies to support the workforce. However, the right to ask to work flexibly is simply the right to ask, there is no guarantee that vital support and time off will be given.
Conference asks the National Women’s Committee to:
1)Raise awareness of the issues facing women in the workplace who have caring responsibilities
2)Carry out a survey to establish the number of women members who are carers and who they care for
3)Provide information to branches on negotiating policies for carers that include short term situations such as end of life care and ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect
4)Work with the Carers Trust and Carers UK to improve support services for our women members who are carers.