Care England, the largest and most diverse representative of adult social care providers in England, has today published a new report revealing that while women make up 78% of the adult social care workforce, they hold just 41% of board-level positions, indicating the persistent barriers to progression across the sector.
Drawing on 12 interviews with senior women leaders and 157 survey responses, the report, titled The Overlooked Majority, identifies a ‘recognition gap’ with many respondents who did not initially identify gender as influencing their career progression, but had later described or selected barriers which were gendered in nature.
The report exposes the uncomfortable truth that gender inequality in adult social care is often experienced by women in the workforce but not always recognised or reported as gender inequality, arguing that this must be understood within the wider feminisation of care, where paid and unpaid caring work have traditionally been viewed as “women’s work” and consequently undervalued economically and socially.
Dr Olivia Curno, Care England Policy Board Member and Chief Executive of Elizabeth Finn Homes, said:
“For too long, social care has depended on the dedication of women while failing to properly value the work itself. This report challenges us to rethink care not as invisible labour, but as skilled, essential work deserving of recognition, investment and ambition.”
The report finds that women across the sector continue to encounter barriers when trying to progress their careers in care, including the disproportionate burden of unpaid caring responsibilities, reduced access to informal networks and sponsorship opportunities, assumptions about flexibility and career commitment, and the cumulative impact of factors such as age, race and socioeconomic background.”
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:
“Women are the backbone of adult social care, yet too many continue to face barriers that limit their progression and leadership opportunities. This report highlights a challenge that is too often hidden in plain sight and asks us to confront some uncomfortable truths about how we value care and the people who deliver it. If we are serious about building a sustainable future for social care, we must ensure women have every opportunity to progress, lead and shape the future of a sector they have done so much to build. Women should not make up the majority of the workforce while remaining underrepresented in the rooms where decisions are made. It is time to remove the barriers that hold women back and create more opportunities for them to lead, progress and thrive at every level of the sector.”
The report sets out a series of recommendations, calling for care providers to:
- Introduce 360-degree appraisals,
- Improve access to leadership and development opportunities,
- Actively embed workplace policies into culture change,
- Better recognise the burden of unpaid caring responsibilities.
At a national level, the report recommends that the Government:
- Improve access to affordable childcare,
- Introduce stronger equal pay and pay transparency requirements,
- Support the creation of a national mentoring platform for women in adult social care,
- Promote menopause strategies and gender pay gap action plans across employers,
- Lead a national campaign to challenge the perception of care as “women’s work”,
- Invest in further research into gender inequality within the adult social care workforce.
Dr Curno concluded:
“This report moves beyond identifying inequalities and instead asks us to confront the structures and assumptions that sustain them. This report looks for solutions. Across the sector, there are organisations already demonstrating what change looks like, and while these examples will not solve the problems by themselves, they show that progress is possible, practical and profitable. But responsibility for change must be shared; the government must address the structural barriers against women through national policy.”
For a sector built on the contribution of women, ensuring they have equal opportunities to progress, lead and thrive will be critical to the future success of adult social care.
You can read the report in its entirety here.
