Lead supervisor:
Dr Teresa Crew 
Other supervisor(s):
- Dr Hefin Gwilym
Start date: October 2025 (Full time)
Award: General
Subject Pathway:
Sociology / Science and Technology Studies
Thematic Cluster:
Society and Well-Being Cluster
Women in Wales and Second Class Citizen Status
Since the introduction of the Gender Pay Gap Reporting in 2017, we have witnessed a slow yet gradual improvement in the Gender Pay Gap (PWC, 2025). However, PWC (2025b) claim that at the current pace, the Gender Pay Gap could take at least another 40 years to close. According to Wen Wales (2024), women living in Wales face a worse situation, with the Gender Pay Gap showing an increase for the second consecutive year.
When considering the private sphere, research suggests that women remain the primary caregivers in society; a societal service that is largely unpaid (Criado Perez, 2019; Andrew et al, 2021; Francis-Devine and Hutton, 2024). Andrew et al (2021) assert that this unpaid role of the caregiver is at its core a factor reinforcing unequal inequalities in the labour market (Andrew et al. 2021). Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that existing policies, especially maternity and paternity leave policies, contribute to the reinforcement of gender social structures in regard to economic activity and caring responsibility (Andrew et al, 2024). For example, in Wales women are 3.5 times more likely to be economically inactive due to caring and unpaid domestic responsibilities (WEN Wales, 2024). In addition to this, women in Wales are more likely to be working part-time than men (WEN Wales, 2024).
This project aims to look at the barriers that care-giving women in Wales face regarding equal economic activity (Wen Wales, 2024); through examination of literature secondary data analysis of gender pay gap statistics, questionnaires, focus groups and interview data. This project aims to fill a gap concerning Wales specific gender research through the following objectives:
1) Examine the literature surrounding the female unpaid care-giver role
2) examine the Gender pay Gap in Wales
3) examine the lived experiences of care-giving women in Wales and their barriers to and in work