Afro-Caribbean Lone Parent - Research Paper Example

Difficulties african carribian lone parent face in employement in the U.K. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The Afro-Carribbean lone parents, especially women, are facing great difficulties in continuing as an employed group in UK. The hypothesis for this study is that Afro-Caribbean lone parents are facing a worse employment situation after the New Deal for Lone Parents was introduced in 1997. The decade that followed the New Deal will be analysed by this researcher in terms of employment rate of Afro-Caribbean lone parents and rate of child poverty in Afro-Caribbean lone parent families. Questions that will be formulated to achieve inferences in this study will include, how many employed Afro-Caribbean lone parents in a selected sample have an economically sound job and what is the average distance they have to travel to reach their employment station, how many hours does an Afro-Caribbean lone parent work on an average and how many hours does he/she spend with his/her child/children, what kind of public transport facilities are available for a working Afro-Caribbean lone parent and what kind of support an Afro-Caribbean lone parent receives from his/her family members. REVIEW OF LITERATURE One major study on the economic status of lone parents in UK was done by J. Millar and Karen Rowlingson (2001). Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.180) have found that the majority of lone-parent families in Britain are White but some ethnic minority groups are over-represented among lone-parent families (such as Afro-carrebian women). Another study (Giddens &Griffiths, 2006, pp.215) has also substantiated this as a fact by noting that “there are far fewer black women aged between twenty and forty four living with a husband than there are white women in the same age group.” Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.183) have observed, “the link between high rates of lone parenthood and lack of labour demand causes problems for lone parents for seeking paid work.”These researchers (Millar & Rowlingson, 2001, pp.183) have inferred that one reason for the high rate of lone parenthood in certain areas is owing to the deficiency of decent paid jobs for men in the locality, which detracts them from becoming “husband-father-breadwinners.” Hence they (Millar & Rowlingson, 2001, pp.183) have suggested that “improving employment opportunities in deprived areas for both men and women could therefore increase the labour market participation of lone parents, while at the same time reduce the number of lone parent families.” It was when New Labour came to power in UK that the policies on lone parents underwent a drastic change. Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.15) have noted that many additional benefits paid to lone parents, both in and out of work, were abolished saying that this was a drain on public expenditure and also a threat to traditional two-parent family. In response to the huge outcry raised against this measure, later some benefits were replaced in an altered form of child welfare measures. (Millar & Rowlingson, 2001, Forward, pp.15). The New Deal for Lone Parents, a new scheme introduced by British government in 1997 was a real break through in relation to the problems of lone parents. A research report by Kandy Woodfield and Helen Finch (1999, pp.7), namely, New Deal for Lone Parents: evaluation of innovative schemes, Research Report No. 89, has scrutinized this scheme in detail and made some valid observations. This research was carried out by Social and Community Planning Research on behalf of the Department of Social Security, UK.The report has stated that the new deal programme had offered: “a tailored package of help and advice on jobs, benefits, training and child care, through the provision of advisers (or caseworkers) who work on a one-to-one basis with participants. Lone parents with school age children (aged 5 years 3 months and above) are invited to participate in the programme; lone parents whose youngest child is below school-age may ‘opt in’ to the programme by requesting to participate.” Thus the new policy expects lone parents having children of school age to seek work. But the question that remains is whether it is a politically correct approach to impose work on lone mothers. Broken strings also exist in the employment scenario offered to the lone parents, especially, the Afro-Caribbean lone parents. Millar and Rowlingson (2001) have made an indepth analysis of the employment pattern of lone parents in UK. The employment rate of lone parents has been found to be low as compared to other developed nations. One such finding is that only 70% of the lone parents are employed as compared to 80% in France. (Millar&Rowlingson, 2001, pp.2). Since the New Deal for Lone Parents introduced by the government in 1997, according to Walker and Wiseman (2003, pp.127) 42% of ethnic minority groups have left the programme. This is serious information, which needs further enquiries to identify the causes. Studies on child poverty in Britain have often stumbled upon the connection of this issue to the problem of lone parenthood. Karen Rowlingson has observed that (2001, pp.170) children in “lone parent families or in families on means-tested benefits, such as income support, are very likely to suffer poverty..” Majority of Afro-Carribbean lone parents hail from an economically poor background and often they lack the skills for better employment and also cannot afford the cost of childcare facilities, in case they have to work outside leaving their children behind. The study conducted by Millar &Rowlingson (2001, pp.181) has with clarity observed, “only one in ten Afro-Carribbean women with degree-level qualifications had become single lone mothers compared with almost half who had no qualifications” (p.181). Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.5) also have drawn attention to the fact that British laws do not give many benefits to unemployed lone parents. This becomes evident from their findings that US and UK have the highest rate of poverty among lone parents (Millar& Rowlingson, 2001, pp.5). According toMillar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.11-12), British welfare-to-work policy provides support in four forms to lone parents, which are “wage supplementation through working Families’ Tax Credit.., National Minimum Wage…, active case management, child support payments and a national child care strategy including cash additions to wage supplements.” A lone parent is often not in a position to seek employment far away from home as he/she has to take care of the child/children. Walker and Wiseman (2003, p.130) have listed the constraints faced by lone parents as “barriers arising from personal attributes (health, work experience and skills) and from location (the lack of suitable jobs in the vicinity, transport)”….and also, “ financial risks andconsequences of working” and “difficulties of finding and managing childcare.” Nine in ten lone parents in UK are women (Walker&Wiseman, 2003, pp.117). This fact demands a gender analysis of the lone parent crises. Coming back to Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.6) again, it is crucial to note that they have pointed out; the gendered division of labour inside the family has always affected the policy decisions in many countries. So, in UK, a shift of policy towards making it compulsory for lone parents to work in order to get lone parent benefits has adversely affected Afro-Caribbean lone parent women. Even if they take up an employment in a far away town, they will have to depend on public transport which will not be that much user-friendly. “The lack of affordable and convenient transportation facilities” along with “low labour demand in particular geographical areas” are the two reasons cited by researchers for the terrible employment situation of Afro-Caribbean lone parents (Walker &Wiseman, 2003, pp.131). Stevens (2003) has concluded in a research that “Black Caribbean lone parents are significantly more likely to be working and working full-time than any other groups and less likely to be getting benefits. This study (Stevens, 2003) has also observed that Black-Caribbean women with children to support feel a culture pressure to work in a way white women do not.The work pressure and the pressure from the demands of the child can create a unimaginable emotional stress on the lone parent. Scholars (Scott et. al, 2004, pp.275) have said that the special situation faced by Afro-Caribbean lone mothers can be attributed to an extent to the traditions of Afro-Caribbean community. Studies (Scott et. al, 2004, pp.275) have shown that the Afro-Caribbean family pattern is very special and comprising of varied household structures. Even households with two or three generations of women and absent men are very common. (Scott et al, 2004, p.275) So obviously, the mother will be the major bread winner. Millar and Rowlingson (2001, pp.182) have also dealt with this aspect of Afro-Caribbean lone parenthood by observing that “visiting relationships between fathers and families and strong matriarchal lineages are considered to be one among many causes of high rate of single lone parenthood among Afro-Carribbean women.” Another aspect of Afro-Caribbean lone parenthood in relation with employment opportunities is that this category is least expected to get family support in child rearing. A study conducted by Chamba et. al (1999) has shown that “Black African/Caribbean and Indian families were most vulnerable to low levels of support from the extended family.” The study (Chamba et al, 1999) has cited the reason as arising out of no family member living nearby. This particular study (Chamba et al, 1999) has also found out that “half of the Bangladeshi and Black African/Caribbean parents said they did not have family living nearby.” Millar and Rowlington (2001, pp.182) have further argued, “ there is a link between the ethnic background of lone parents and their employment rates.” Walker and Wiseman (2003, pp.117) have traced the percentage of employed Afro-Caribbean lone mothers from 1970s to 1990s and showed that there is a decline from 47% in mid-1970s to 42% in 1990s. Lower employment rate inevitably means more poverty. Even if employed, often Afro-Caribbean women are considered as cheap labour as there is the prevalent discriminatory notion that they are, “docile, tolerant and satisfied with sub-standard wages”(Alexander & Mohanthy, 1997, pp.19). It is in view of all these barriers that the problems and difficulties of an Afro-Caribbean lone parent demands scrutiny. RATIONALE FOR RESEARCH. Though many research works have been conducted on employment issues of lone parents in UK, only peripheral enquiries have been made yet when it comes to lone Afro-Caribbean parents. It is in this context that this study proposes to focus on the issues of Afro-Caribbean lone parents in employment in UK. The researcher feels that there is strong reason to believe that government policies aimed at increasing employment rate among lone parent families have adversely affected them, especially the Afro-Caribbean lone parents, owing to their particular socio-cultural background. A top down model of social development was blindly implemented as an umbrella rule, ignoring the grass root level realities within this particular community. Hence the researcher aims, on a broader perspective, at finding the missing link between the prevalent child poverty in UK and the lacunae that exist in government policies. RESARCH METHODOLOGY A sample survey will be conducted in a selected locality where there is a considerable percentage of Afro-Caribbean population. This survey will find out, using a questionnaire, why an Afro-Caribbean lone parent is not benefiting from the New Deal for Lone Parents and what barriers are there for an Afro-Caribbean lone parent to get financially sound employment and social security in UK,. Along with this, a content analysis of the UK government’s policies regarding lone parents will be undertaken to add more validity to this research. CHAPTER HEADINGS AND BRIFE OUTLINE OF CONTENT OF EACH CHAPTER. Chapter 1. Employment issues of Afro-Caribbean lone parents in UK-An Overview This chapter will present the issues one by one and suggest the path of enquiry Chapter.2. Review of Literature This chapter will review the existing literature on the subject in a comprehensive way Chapter.3. To work or not to work: The Afro-Caribbean lone parent experience. This chapter will present the survey results Chapter.4. New Deal or no deal? This chapter will present the content analysis of government policies. Chapter.5. Towards inclusion and a better childhood This chapter will summarise the findings and derive inferences. SCHEDULE OF TASK TO BE UNDERTAKEN AND ANTICIPATED TIME TABLE. a) The sample survey will be conducted in the first phase of the research. This will take two months to get completed. b) Data collection for content analysis will take 15 days’ time. c) Content analysis and summarizing the data will take another one month. References Millar, J. & Rowlingson, Karen, 2001, Lone parents, employment and social policy: Cross-national comparisons, Bristol: Policy Press. Scott et. al, 2004, The Blackwell companion to the sociology of families Volume 9, London: Wiley-Blackwell. Walker, Robert & Wiseman, Michael, 2003, The welfare we want?: the British challenge for American reform, Robert Walker, Michael Wiseman, Bristol: The Policy Press. Stevens, Hilary, 2003, Moving towards inclusion: lone parents, A picture of disadvantage in the South West, published on March,  2003, Available at http://www.swslim.org.uk/documents/mti/lone_parents.pdf. (SLIM, Marchmont Observatory, St Lukes Campus, University of Exeter) [Accessed on 27th October, 2009.] Chamba et. al, 1999, Minority ethnic families caring for a severely disabled child, , published on 17 May 1999, Available at http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/minority-ethnic-families-caring-severely-disabled-child, [Accessed on 26th October, 2009.] Woodfield, Kandy & Finch, Helen, 1999, New Deal for Lone Parents: evaluation of innovative schemes, Research Report No. 89, , Available at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/report_abstracts/rr_abstracts/rra_089.asp (Published for the Department of Social Security under licence from the Controller of Her Majestys Stationary Office by Corporate Document Services, Leeds.) [Accessed on on 26th October, 2009,] Rowlingson, Karen, 2001, Child poverty and the policy response, Chapter 7, Understanding social problems: issues in social policy, May et. al, Wiley-Blackwell. Alexander, M. Jacqui & Mohanty, Chandra Talpade, 1997, Feminist genealogies, colonial legacies, democratic futures: Thinking gender, London: Routledge. Giddens, Antony &Griffiths, Simon, 2006, Sociology, Polity. Read More