UofG Centre for Public Policy

16 April 2026: Dr Louise Lawson writes that unpaid care remains one of the biggest drivers of economic inactivity, with women continuing to be impacted most. She shares findings from her research to illustrate the impact of unpaid care and urges politicians in Scotland to recognise care as requiring long-term investment and infrastructure.

Blog by Dr Louise Lawson

As Scotland heads toward the 2026 election, unpaid care [1] sits at the heart of debates on the economy, equality and public services. Yet unpaid care remains one of the biggest and least recognised drivers of economic inactivity, with women continuing to shoulder most of this vital but undervalued and often invisible work.  Drawing on research with women in multiple low‑paid employment (MLPE)[2], I call for action on care that moves beyond piecemeal measures and recognises it as a collective responsibility requiring long‑term investment and infrastructure.

Policy progress still falls short

Scotland has introduced a range of measures in recent years to improve support for carers, including the Carers (Scotland) Act, with amendments in the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, the Carers’ Charter, boosts to social security payments and investment in programmes to better recognise and assist carers. At UK level, the introduction of unpaid carer’s leave and the day‑one right to request flexible working mark further developments.

These measures, while welcome, do not change the underlying structure of care or work, leaving unpaid caring as an individual responsibility carried mainly by women. Childcare shows the same pattern: funded early learning and childcare exists, but it often fails to meet families’ real needs, especially for those working non‑standard hours or for families and children with diverse and additional needs.

Even more worrying is the state of social care. The collapse of plans for a National Care Service has left Scotland without a roadmap for long‑term reform, and recommendations to treat social care as an investment, centred on human rights and stronger accountability, are already disappearing.

Research findings: Women in Multiple Low-paid Employment (2020-2024)

I led a study of women in multiple low‑paid employment (MLPE), using UK datasets, and interviews with 105 women in the West of Scotland, which found that caring was a key driver of entry into MLPE. Women in MLPE earn two‑thirds less per hour and 40% less per week, and are more likely to experience material deprivation, with 40% receiving working‑age benefits. Findings showed:

  • Work is continually shaped around care: women rely on evening/weekend or term‑time shifts, turn to self‑employment, take insecure roles for flexibility, or quit careers that cannot accommodate changing care needs.
  • Lack of support: lone parenthood, absent fathers, limited support networks, financial insecurity and the working hours of family members all compound the pressures on women’s work.
  • Funded childcare rarely matches reality: it often fails to meet the needs of diverse family arrangements or those working non‑standard hours.
  • Caring for children with additional or complex needs is especially demanding: it is time‑intensive, poorly supported and severely limits women’s ability to sustain paid work.
  • Formal care services, including social care, remain limited and inflexible: many women are combining substantial caring responsibilities alongside work with little reliable support.

As other research shows[3], when caring hours increase or change, sustaining paid work becomes much harder. Many women reduce their hours, move into part‑time roles or leave the labour market entirely. Every day, hundreds quit work due to rising caring demands, taking vital experience, stability and income with them. This is not a work-life balance issue, it is a structural inequality rooted in the neglect of care in Scotland and beyond.

Care as infrastructure

Caring (paid and unpaid) is as essential to Scotland’s economy as transport, housing or digital connectivity. And like all infrastructure, it requires collective investment and political leadership, not reliance on piecemeal measures and individual sacrifice[4].

With the election approaching, the real question is this: Which political parties will recognise care as central to Scotland’s future? Women’s experiences offer a roadmap for what is needed. But only structural change will ensure that working carers can participate fully and fairly in Scotland’s economy and public life.

Caring sustains our society. It is time our society sustained carers in return.

Author

Dr Louise Lawson is a Lecturer in Urban Studies and Social Policy at the University of Glasgow. Her research explores the gendered dynamics of women’s paid and unpaid work, caring inequalities and poverty. Her perspective is shaped not only by her academic background but also by her lived experience as a parent and unpaid carer.  These roles shape her commitment to challenging the systems that undervalue women’s work, advocating for meaningful change in how care and inequalities are understood and addressed.

References

Image by BMPix from Getty Images via Canva Pro

First published: 16 April 2026

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