New research from the Carer Poverty Commission NI, in partnership with the Women’s Regional Consortium, focuses on the barriers to employment for women with unpaid caring roles in Northern Ireland. Based on our State of Caring survey and focus groups with women carers from across NI, the research shows:

• 1 in 3 (34%) women with unpaid caring roles in Northern Ireland have given up employment to care, while 1 in 4 (28%) have decreased their working hours because of caring.
• 1 in 6 (17%) women with unpaid caring roles have taken on a less qualified job or turned down promotion to fit around their caring responsibilities.
• Support for carers in employment is often a lottery, dependent on individual employers and line managers.
• Inadequacies in wider support services, including social services, healthcare, education and childcare, are stopping women with unpaid caring roles from staying in employment altogether or limiting the amount of work they can do.
• Trying to juggle work and caring without proper support often comes at the detriment of women's careers, finances and health and wellbeing.