TY - JOUR
T1 - Locked down and locked out
T2 - mothers and UKTV work during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Wreyford, Natalie
AU - Newsinger, Jack
AU - Kennedy, Helen
AU - Aust, Rowan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023/10/25
Y1 - 2023/10/25
N2 - COVID-19 and the associated government lockdowns in the UK had dramatic impacts on the UK’s creative industries. This article explores these impacts on mothers working in UK Television (UKTV), on their ability to work, finances, and mental health. It is based on the largest survey ever conducted of this group. It is argued that the COVID-19 crisis revealed and compounded the long-standing incompatibility between gendered, unpaid care work and the intensity of working patterns in UKTV. This had disastrous effects on mothers attempting to remain within television labour markets whilst also shouldering the overwhelming majority of the burden of additional childcare, with potential long-term effects on gendered labour market outcomes and the diversity of the UK’s creative industry workforce. Finally, the article explores Working From Home (WFH) as one possible solution to the problem of combining unpaid care work with the intense working patterns associated with TV work. It finds that, while an important tool through which mothers can manage care work alongside television work, WFH needs to be approached with caution as a policy and practice solution to continued gender inequality.
AB - COVID-19 and the associated government lockdowns in the UK had dramatic impacts on the UK’s creative industries. This article explores these impacts on mothers working in UK Television (UKTV), on their ability to work, finances, and mental health. It is based on the largest survey ever conducted of this group. It is argued that the COVID-19 crisis revealed and compounded the long-standing incompatibility between gendered, unpaid care work and the intensity of working patterns in UKTV. This had disastrous effects on mothers attempting to remain within television labour markets whilst also shouldering the overwhelming majority of the burden of additional childcare, with potential long-term effects on gendered labour market outcomes and the diversity of the UK’s creative industry workforce. Finally, the article explores Working From Home (WFH) as one possible solution to the problem of combining unpaid care work with the intense working patterns associated with TV work. It finds that, while an important tool through which mothers can manage care work alongside television work, WFH needs to be approached with caution as a policy and practice solution to continued gender inequality.
KW - childcare
KW - COVID-19
KW - creative industries
KW - flexible work
KW - Television work
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174714022&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14680777.2023.2266775
DO - 10.1080/14680777.2023.2266775
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85174714022
SN - 1468-0777
JO - Feminist Media Studies
JF - Feminist Media Studies
ER -
