Under the slogan ‘Caring about our Carers’, the EDI Team is running three focus group sessions in September in order to improve understanding of the experience of carers at Queen Mary. The outcomes of the focus groups will feed into the institutional Athena Swan application and frame ongoing actions to support carers. This is a part of a wider strategy to support QM staff with caring responsibilities, especially in the post-pandemic reality.
The quality, availability, and affordability of childcare in the UK, and the ensuing economic inequality and gender pay gap, have been a growing issue, further exacerbated by the pandemic. A recent study by University College London found that mothers in the UK earn 45% less than their childless counterparts, with childcare costing about 30% of the average wage.
You can find out more about the scheme and volunteer for focus groups here https://www.qmul.ac.uk/doctoralcollege/about-us/blog/items/caring-about-our-carers–focus-groups.html
The UK Parliament will debate the need for an independent review of the childcare sector on the 13th September.