Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
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Why any skills assessment can’t ignore older women

Older women are habitually treated as marginal figures in the labour force .   I've just come across some figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that really drive home why this should no longer be the case. Here are the key points: 1.  The participation rate for women aged 55+  is already over one-third.  That, if I've understood the figures correctly, is of all women aged 55+, i.e. including centenarians and beyond. 2.  Nearly one third (32.8%) of F aged 65-69 will be in work by 2024.  So much for conventional ways of giving us the labour force figures, stopping at 65. 3.   Nearly one quarter  (22.4%) of…
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Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
Read More

Why any skills assessment can’t ignore older women

Older women are habitually treated as marginal figures in the labour force .   I've just come across some figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that really drive home why this should no longer be the case. Here are the key points: 1.  The participation rate for women aged 55+  is already over one-third.  That, if I've understood the figures correctly, is of all women aged 55+, i.e. including centenarians and beyond. 2.  Nearly one third (32.8%) of F aged 65-69 will be in work by 2024.  So much for conventional ways of giving us the labour force figures, stopping at 65. 3.   Nearly one quarter  (22.4%) of…
Read More