Performing arts workers facing ‘significant’ childcare challenges

Mothers working in Scotland’s performing arts sector are forced to make professional sacrifices to accommodate their children due to the expense and inflexibility of available childcare, according to the findings of a new study.

The research, undertaken by University of the West of Scotland (UWS), found that despite parents in Scotland being entitled to up to 1,140 hours of statutory childcare for eligible toddlers annually, performing arts workers often struggle to access childcare as their shifts do not align to traditional nine-to-five working hours.

Dr Aleksandra Webb, UWS Lecturer in Business and Management and report author, said experiences shared by mothers “not only demonstrate the shortcomings of the existing childcare system, but also how little flexibility exists in the working patterns within this sector”.

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“This lack of flexibility makes it often near impossible to reconcile work with the typical operating hours of childcare provision.”

The research interviewed 10 mothers who were performers whose jobs fully or partly involve performing on stages, in concert halls, on radio, or in front of the camera . They all agreed childcare is expensive and estimated they pay between £10,000 and £12,500 per child for childcare annually, as their ad hoc or unpredictable work schedules mean they cannot access statutory childcare.

Most of them said they ‘double pay’ for childcare, by paying regular nursery fees, temporary childcare arrangement during periods of performing away from home and costs of ‘childcare top-ups’ such as childminders outside school hours.

Interviewees cited the incompatibility of childcare and the nature of their work as the greatest obstacle to returning to work and their career progression, adding they had made “professional sacrifices” to accommodate the needs of their children.
                       
They also described the performing arts sector as doing little to proactively make work patterns more compatible with childcare needs.  

One said the sector expects mothers “to be able to just turn up and do the work” while several said there is a “culture of silence” when it comes to discussing childcare issues. 

Examples given said there is often little support for those who wish to return to work, with interviewees saying there can be a lack of access to appropriate facilities at work sites or no offer of shorter or more flexible working hours.

The report says the sector’s slow uptake of family supporting practices “might stem from male dominance in managing roles and from a culture that is centred on an unquestionable commitment to the individual’s career”.

Learning points

The report offers learning points for policy and practice to “develop workable and lasting support solutions for mothers working in the sector”.

They include increased investment to deliver “universal, high-quality, wrap-around childcare in ways that make it more affordable for parents to return to paid work and sustain it” and for childcare solutions to be co-designed and evaluated with parents.

The report adds the performing arts and entertainment sector needs “robust metrics to drive and transparently track progress in enhancing support to those with childcare responsibilities”. It says this would help identify which initiatives have the biggest potential in helping to change the sector’s culture, which in turn would prevent career breaks and reduce the outflow of female artists to different industries.    

It also calls on Creative Scotland to work closely with the Parents and Carers in the Performing Arts (PiPA) group, arts and creative sectors’ unions, the Federation of Scottish Theatre and individual employers to find ways to actively promote changes in work patterns and workplace practices that reflect the needs of mothers and parents.
        
Sarah Jackson, PiPA Chair of Trustees, says the report “paints a picture that is painfully familiar of an industry that is often not informed enough or sufficiently equipped to support the needs of the mothers it employs, including its freelancers”.

“The report’s wider conclusions around how to develop childcare provision that meets the needs of parents employed in atypical, non-standard and often insecure jobs are timely and vital, including a common-sense call to co-design solutions with parents themselves.”