Buy essay on To work or not to work: The Afro-Caribbean lone parent experience

In actuality, African Caribbean lone parents face a number of problems in regard to their employment. The modern labour market raises a number of barriers African Caribbean lone parents have to surpass to obtain a desirable job and get larger job opportunities.
Barriers to employment
The report, Families, Poverty, Work and Care (DWP, 2001), looked at survey data which informed the debate on the advantages to lone parents of working and the barriers which prevent them from doing so. In-depth, qualitative studies show that it is the availability and cost of childcare that is the largest single factor in a lone parent’s decision whether or not to work. Certain other factors were also significant in the choice:
Financial issues – the problems of making the transition into work from benefits and concerns whether work will provide them with sufficient income to manage. The financial issues are very significant because many African Caribbean face the problem of the permanent shortage of money because they have a low level of income. Therefore, they cannot afford maintaining their children, especially if they are deprived of hte support from the part of the spouse. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that, as a rule, it is females who are the lone parents. At this point, it should be said that the level of income among African Caribbean females is lower compared to African Caribbean males. Therefore, women in African Caribbean community are often dependent on their spouses. When African Caribbeans divorce or when a husband passes away, lone mothers often face the problem of the dramatic drop in the household and family income, which make their life unaffordable in financial terms.
Paying for housing – there is much confusion over the Housing Benefit system, which resulted in many lone parents in social housing thinking that once they started work they would have to meet social housing costs in full. There was also confusion over the linkages between in-work benefits and Housing Benefit; that is whether and by what each might impact on the other. In actuality, paying for housing may become unaffordable for African Caribbean lone parents because of the consistent deterioration of the situation in the housing industry. The recent economic crisis has undermined the development of the housing industry and African Caribbean lone parents cannot afford paying for housing and maintaining their children;
Morale, self-confidence and hardship – ‘low-morale’ (unfortunately not specifically defined) is four times more likely to be experienced by those in severe hardship than those not in hardship. This statement seems so obvious it is perhaps better to focus on the effect on self-confidence and self-esteem that constantly worrying about how to provide for the family would inevitably have. A vicious circle is created as those with low self-esteem and little confidence in what they have to offer are much less likely to find employment;
Employer attitudes – the feeling that employers lack sympathy for the family situation, lack flexibility or are actively prejudiced. The development of familyfriendly policies is an issue that can be addressed by the European Social Fund (ESF). In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that many employers are prejudiced and biased against African Caribbeans. In such a situation, African Caribbean lone parents are particularly vulnerable to the prejudiced and biased attitude from the part of employers because British employers may view lone parents as bad employees on the ground of their failure or problems in the family life. What is mean here is the fact that employers believe that lone parents cannot work effectively because they have problems in their personal life that will prevent them from focusing on their work. In addition, lone parents will need more time to take care for their children, especially if they fall ill. In regard to African Caribbean lone parents the attitude of employers is even worse because they believe that African Caribbean employees are inferior to native-born employees and being lone parents they prove that they cannot live in accordance to British traditions. However, such a view is highly conservative and the negative attitude of employers to lone parent employees is determined by financial considerations;
Mobility/Transport – One of the key barriers to social inclusion (not just employment) for lone parents is access to reliable, affordable, convenient and child-friendly transport. Transport is relevant to childcare as most lone parents use public transport to get to work, thus extending the working day and adding to the cost of childcare. There are also different experiences for the lone parent living in a rural or an urban area. Those in a town or city have a more comprehensive public transport network, but the congestion in town and city centres adds considerably to the time spent travelling. For those in rural areas, the bus services might be reliable, but infrequent, restricting the time spent away from home – and therefore preventing someone taking up employment involving shift work or the opportunity for adult education courses in the evening. Car ownership is higher in rural areas through necessity, but to run a car is more expensive owing to the greater distances travelled.
The Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) report, Making the Connections: Transport and Social Exclusion (2002) states:
‘Poor transport contributes to social exclusion … it restricts access to activities
that enhance people’s life chances, such as work, learning, healthcare, food
shopping, and other key activities.’
Transport is therefore at the heart of the social exclusion debate for lone parents. Not only does the availability of transport affect their own employment and training opportunities, but it also affects how they care for their children’s health and well-being. Poor transport links mean that children also miss out on out-of-school activities.