The forgotten labour force: Characteristics and trends for older female part-time workers in Ireland

Changing labour markets, educational attainment, work experience, constraints and preferences have all been proposed to explain the features of contemporary female labour force participation. This engagement has been characterised as part-time and segregated in low status, poorly paid jobs. Despite the fact that almost half of all older female workers are employed part-time, there is a dearth of information on who these workers are (the forgotten labour force) and what, if anything has changed over time for this cohort. For the first time, key variables are drawn from three labour force datasets over a 16-year period to provide a likely profile of the older female part-time worker, highlight where they work and in what capacity, as well as shedding light on what has changed over this period. This trend analysis highlights significant changes for this worker cohort, the implications of which are discussed from individual, organisational and societal perspectives.