New research on young mothers reveals urgent need for systemic change

Close the Gap are working in partnership with Save the Children to deliver a two-year project to understand and address the barriers that young mothers (aged 16-25) face in the Scottish labour market, particularly with regards to in-work poverty and sustaining fair work. 

Since the Fair Work for Young Mothers project began in June 2025, the first phase of work has focused on building an evidence base about young mothers’ experiences in the labour market. We have been working closely with our Research and Campaign Advisers, a group of 8 young mothers whose lived experience has been invaluable in guiding the research design and framing of findings. 

Young mothers, poverty, and the labour market

A woman’s age at the birth of her first child is likely to be substantially lower in the most deprived areas of the country. Of the six priority groups identified in Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the risk of poverty is highest (55 percent) for households with a mother aged under 25. Mothers under 25 are also more likely than other groups to experience poverty despite being in paid work, with this being the case for 42 percent of young mothers. 

Young women aged 16-24 are concentrated in low-paid and service sector roles like caring and service, administrative and secretarial, and sales and customer services occupations. In contrast, young men dominate in more technical and higher-paying manual occupations. Data on the distribution of 16–24-year-olds across industries also reveals stark gender segregation mirroring that of occupational groups. This highlights a structural divide in early labour market opportunities, reflecting persistent gendered assumptions about who does what type of work, most often funnelling young women into work typically associated with lower pay and status from an early age. There isn’t data available on which occupations and industries young mothers specifically are more likely to work in, but it is reasonable to assume that such data would show a similar picture.  

There is a lack of routinely collected data on the labour market participation of young mothers in Scotland. This includes widespread intersectional data gaps on young mothers who are disabled, racially minoritised, survivors of men’s violence, migrants and LGBT. Our research aims to offer a better understanding of the labour market experiences of young women and how these are shaped by motherhood. 

To build our evidence base, we conducted research into young mothers’ experiences of the Scottish labour market. This involved: 

1. A mapping of young mothers’ position in the Scottish labour market – seeking key characteristics of young mothers’ employment, such as occupational segregation and working patterns. 
2. A literature review of young mothers’ labour market experiences – reviewing policy, academic and grey literature to gather existing evidence. 
3. Qualitative research with low-income young mothers on their experiences – a diverse group of 32 young mothers from across Scotland were interviewed. 
4. An employer poll – responses from 181 Scottish employers from a range of sectors, organisational sizes, and job roles. 

Headline findings

The Fair Work for Young Mothers project involved invaluable research that provides a rich insight into the labour market experiences of young mothers, a group that is often overlooked and ignored. 

The full findings will be available in our research report, but here is a preview of some of our headline findings:   

• Young mothers remain considerably less likely to be in employment when compared to other mothers, even as their children grow up. 
• The interplay between childcare and paid work is critical – young mothers need suitable, affordable childcare. This is particularly true for those with disabled children and children with additional support needs. Young mothers also need fair work that provides flexibility without fear of reprisal. 
• Many young mothers are disabled or have disabled children, are carers for other household members, racially minoritised, care experienced, and survivors of male violence – these experiences impact their journeys with entering, sustaining and progressing in paid work. 
• Employer support for young mothers is conditional and uneven, and constrained by organisational size, entrenched stereotypes, and limited capacity for flexibility. 
• Some of our interview participants reported discriminatory attitudes and practices after disclosing their pregnancy to their employer. 
• All the young mothers we interviewed reported feeling stigmatised and judged for having children at a younger age. 

Despite navigating these challenges and more, the young mothers interviewed in our research expressed significant pride and ambition – they felt that becoming a mother at a younger age had developed their resilience, strength and determination in all areas of life. 

Policy failings, poor employer practice, and the persistence of occupational segregation have allowed young mothers and their families to remain at a disproportionate risk of experiencing poverty.

Full research report launch

We are delighted to be launching our full research report this autumn. 

The findings will be integral to this project’s second phase, which will focus on developing resources for employers, launching a campaign to raise young mothers’ awareness of their employment rights, and influencing policymakers to work towards big change that addresses systemic inequality. In particular, our recommendations will set out what must change so that young mothers can access, sustain, and progress in fair work.

Further information on the report launch and how you can attend will be shared soon. 

To keep up to date with news and updates, follow Close the Gap on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Guest blog: Anti-racist practice in the third sector- what does real change demand of all of us?

Today we’re sharing a guest blog from Aneela McKenna and Dr Karla Perez Portilla, who worked with us to develop Close the Gap’s anti-racist practice strategy. Their insights and challenge have been central to shaping this work, and to pushing us to think more deeply about what meaningful, sustained organisational change requires.

Over the past year, we worked closely with Aneela and Karla to examine our policies and practice through an anti-racist lens. This included an external audit, all-staff training, and a series of workshops that created space for reflection, discomfort, and learning. Together, this process helped us move from commitment to action, and informed the development of our strategy. In this blog, they reflect on what an intersectional and anti-racist approach demands in practice, drawing on their experience of working with us and across the wider third sector.

Karla: I met Aneela in October 2004 when we began our MSc in Equality and Discrimination at the University of Strathclyde – over twenty years ago. We connected from the first day. We were young women from adversely racialised backgrounds, both driven to make a difference.

At the time, Aneela was the first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the University of Glasgow, while I was a Chevening Scholar from Mexico, having just published my first book On the Principle of Equality. Since then, we have taken on many roles.

I have worked across academia, the public and third sectors on anti-racist and anti-discrimination projects, focusing on making anti-discrimination law more accessible and effective. Aneela has led equality programmes in the public sector and now runs her own consultancy, Mòr Diversity. After more than twenty years, we have come together again to support Close the Gap’s anti-racist work – a collaboration that has deepened our bond and shared commitment to meaningful change.

A collaborative reflection

This blog is a collaborative reflection structured around three questions. Karla leads on the first, Aneela on the second, and we address the third together.

1.What does the third sector need to do to take a genuinely intersectional and anti-racist approach?

Karla: A good starting point is to ask some honest and fundamental questions: why do we want to take this approach, and why now? Who are our services, goods, and employment structures designed for, by whom, and for what purpose? And who actually benefits from them in practice?

The question of why is crucial because it shapes motivation. When action is driven primarily by fashion, funding requirements, or political pressure, it is rarely sustainable. Meaningful change requires genuine compassion because fairness and dignity matter, not because we are being watched. As Fannie Lou Hamer reminded us, nobody is free until all of us are free.

Asking who our services really work for brings intersectionality into sharp focus. Deconstructing privilege is not about blame or punishment; it is about examining how resources, access, and advantage are distributed and whether they can be shared more equitably. A universal approach — treating everyone the same — may appear fair, but in practice it often is not. Offering everyone a seat at the table assumes the same chair works for all, when in reality, different people need different forms of support. Intersectionality helps us design systems that deliver substantive, not merely formal, equality.

I therefore suggest a three-part approach:

• first, clearly declare an intention to be anti-racist and intersectional;
• second, commit to specific, measurable changes; and
• third, sustain action over time. Fairness and inclusion are not end points but ongoing commitments that must be actively maintained.

Aneela: Karla is right: commitment must be sustainable. The third sector often follows funding and policy, but it cannot lose its active role in building an intersectional and anti-racist approach. Too often, communities are treated as homogenous groups. We must recognise the multiple identities people hold and ensure services truly meet their needs.

Gender equality work cannot advance without an anti-racist lens. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality emerged because feminist approaches that focused only on more privileged women erased the compounded oppression faced by adversely racialised women. This is a critical moment for the third sector to challenge the racist narratives embedded in everyday life through social media, political discourse, and our daily conversations. We need collective action and a unified voice that says racism is not welcome. Commitment alone is not enough; we need sustained action, intentional representation, and a long-term focus.

2.What are examples of good practice?

Aneela: There is no perfect model, but I look for good practice within specific workstreams. One thing organisations fear most is often the best way to becoming anti-racist: delivering programmes for adversely racialised groups or setting diversity targets. People say this takes opportunities away from others. But positive action (which is lawful, unlike positive discrimination) is a vital tool – proactive outreach, leadership programmes, bringing adversely racialised people into decision-making. As Sir Geoffrey Palmer once said, “talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.” Positive action helps close the ethnicity gap.

Second, nothing happens without data. When you take a proposal to a board, they need evidence that targeted action is necessary. Data collection should be ongoing from staff, volunteers, the communities you serve as well as those you are failing to reach. Data reveals the inequalities we’d rather not see, providing the hard evidence that makes the status quo indefensible and action unavoidable.

Finally, cultivate partnerships that challenge your institutional thinking and question your practices. Be honest about the model you’re using and what the expectations are; don’t define the relationship as something it isn’t. Be transparent about where the power sits, but also actively address how that power can be redistributed to adversely racialised communities. We cannot claim a process is collaborative if the structural ownership never actually shifts.

Karla: I fully agree on the importance of positive action: it is statistically and morally justified, legally permitted, and a crucial means of fulfilling the UK’s Public Sector Equality Duty. I would like to add a personal reflection. On one occasion, I was asked to identify countries doing anti-racist work ‘better’ than the UK, implying that, in the absence of clear examples, urgent action was unnecessary. This comparison is flawed. Inequality and discrimination are historically produced and deeply contextual. No other country shares the UK’s specific imperial history or has benefited in the same ways from colonial exploitation. The UK must therefore respond seriously to its own history and present realities.

3. So, what does real change demand of all of us?

Karla: Social inequality is not natural; it is made — and what is made can be unmade. We know change is working when it becomes uncomfortable. As I often tell my students, muscles grow because they burn during exercise. Real change is no different: it unsettles and disrupts the status quo. Organisations should therefore recognise discomfort not as failure, but as a sign of progress.

Aneela: Too often, this work is left to the one adversely racialised person on the team—that is not sustainable. Don’t leave them to carry the weight alone. Allocate resources, set strategic goals, and build firm accountability so that equity becomes everyone’s responsibility. Let it come from the board and leadership, not just from those with lived experience. We can all lead with an intersectional lens. True inclusion does not rest on the shoulders of one ‘champion’; it requires a unified movement to turn commitment into lasting change.

Close the Gap launches anti-racist practice strategy for 2026 to 2029

Today we’re publishing Close the Gap’s anti-racist practice strategy for 2026 to 2029. It’s not a document we publish because we’ve arrived somewhere, it’s a public commitment to a journey of organisational change that we know will take sustained effort, honesty, and time. 

Close the Gap exists to advance women’s equality in the labour market, and we know that structural change is necessary to realise this. Systemic inequality must be named and challenged if it is to be dismantled. As Kimberlé Crenshaw’s seminal work on intersectionality makes clear, genuine gender equality cannot be achieved without an explicit anti-racist lens. Centring intersectionality means going further than we have, and this strategy sets out how we’ll do that.  

Our work to get here 

Over the past year, we’ve worked with Aneela McKenna of Mòr Diversity and Dr Karla Perez Portilla, whose subject matter expertise and lived experience has been crucial in this process. Part of this work involved a comprehensive anti-racism external audit of our policies and practice. The findings were uncomfortable but clarifying; Close the Gap had pockets of good practice and genuine commitment, but these were not systematised. Anti-racism principles were not fully integrated into our policies, our project design, our communications, or our culture. Passion without structure isn’t enough. Good intentions without accountability aren’t enough. The strategy is our response to that. 

The process was also shaped by engagement with an external group of racially minoritised women. We’re grateful to them for trusting us and sharing their lived experience. Their involvement was not a tick-box exercise, it was an essential component of this work. 

Why speaking publicly matters 

Close the Gap is a small organisation of eight staff, led by white women, with a majority white workforce. That context matters because it means we need to learn, it shapes how we listen, and it’s why external expertise and lived experience have been central to this process rather than optional extras.  

The current political context is also important. The rise of far-right activism in Scotland and across the UK, and increased racism and anti-migrant rhetoric in public discourse make this work not just an organisational priority but a political necessity. Silence in this climate is not a neutral act. 

Publishing a strategy means being held accountable. Too often, organisations make commitments on anti-racism and gender equality that do not lead to meaningful change. Organisations that never declare publicly rarely do the work at all. We know that accountability requires visibility. And if Close the Gap is asking employers to create anti-racist, gender-competent workplaces, we have an obligation to build one ourselves. 

There will be discomfort, learning, and missteps along the way. The strategy is designed with that reality in mind; it’s iterative, annually reviewed, and grounded in continuous improvement rather than presuming to have all the answers from the outset. 

What we’re committing to 

The strategy sets out our commitment across four interconnected workstreams:  

• how we position ourselves externally and build genuine engagement with racially minoritised women and anti-racism organisations;  
• how we transform our internal culture, systems, and processes;  
• how we embed continuous learning across the whole organisation, both with the staff team and the board; and  
• how we formalise accountability, both for ourselves and in the expectations we place on the employers we work with. 

We’ve developed an evaluation plan with indicators of success, and we’ll publish annual updates sharing what we achieved and, just as importantly, what we didn’t. As a small third sector organisation in an increasingly challenging funding context, capacity is a real barrier. We recognise that learning as we go will present its own challenges, but know that there’s much to be learnt from not getting something right the first time. 

Why this work is essential 

The engagement with our staff team and board over the past year was both authentic and, at times, uncomfortable in exactly the right ways. The guiding principles we’ve arrived at - sitting with discomfort, sharing accountability, centring lived experience, and being open to growth - reflect the genuine commitment and enthusiasm from staff and trustees about the work that we’re doing. 

This strategy also connects directly to the core of Close the Gap’s mission. Racially minoritised women face compounded inequalities in the labour market, in pay and progression, in the way their work is valued, and whether their voices are heard. If we don’t name that, if we allow our work to flatten women’s experiences into one undifferentiated category, we’re part of the problem we claim to be solving. The language of intersectionality has been increasingly adopted, but too often it’s without an understanding of what it means in practice, and without the necessary action to create change for racially minoritised women. 

“You cannot achieve genuine gender equality without an explicit anti-racist lens. If we don’t name that, we’re part of the problem we claim to be solving.”

How we’ll be held to account 

Publishing this strategy is one of the ways we will hold ourselves accountable. We have also built structured accountability mechanisms into the strategy, including setting out clear indicators of success in an evaluation plan that will be regularly reviewed, and a commitment to share annual public updates on progress. Those updates will be honest about what we’ve achieved and where we have fallen short. Our board of trustees also has a critical oversight role both in ensuring the plan is delivered, but also in how they change adapt their own governance practice to be anti-racist. We’re now on a journey to becoming an anti-racist organisation, and that is what advancing justice and equality for all women actually means. 

The Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice: A collaborative learning experience on gender equality at work

On Monday 2^nd March, the Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice welcomed its members back for an in-person event, focusing on the theme of ‘Improving women’s experiences in the workplace’. It was an energised session with lots of new members attending the Community of Practice for the first time, among the familiar faces who have been active members of the peer learning group since its inception.

With increasing pushback towards equality, diversity and inclusion and women’s rights, globally and locally, this type of work and connection to others is more important than ever. The Community of Practice supports this by growing a wide network of peers across sectors, to share learning and to build collective understanding around gender equality employment practice.  

We are grateful to COSLA who supported this event.

Exploring the theme of ‘Improving women’s experiences in the workplace’

To begin the day, Dr Karla Pérez Portilla explored the topic of institutional racism, what this means, how to unpack it using the Structural, Cultural, Institutional and Personal (SCIP) analysis and discussed the power of, and opportunities often missed by, employment legislation like the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). With ethnicity pay gap reporting soon to be mandatory, and the development of anti-racist action plans within organisations, this provided an opportunity for employers to identify where to improve their practice.

The Community of Practice has always provided the space for cross-sectoral shared learning, which has been a key feature of the group and highly valued. Colleagues from City of Edinburgh Council’s presented information on their approach to pay gap reporting, including their data that looks at the intersection between gender, disability and ethnicity and the importance of transparency about the issues you’re facing, to drive effective change.

We also shared details about Close the Gap’s Fair Work for Young Mothers Project, which is in partnership with Save the Children. The interactive sessions informed members about the barriers young mother’s face in the workplace and also captured attendees views of how young mother’s are perceived in the workplace. The discussion included reflection on what more could be done within members own organisations to promote a workplace inclusive of young mothers.

The value in networking

The Community of Practice only works when members feel able and comfortable sharing their learning and experiences. In every session, members show up ready to listen, learn and reflect. This helps create a collaborative environment where practical ideas, honest reflections and examples of progress and challenges can be openly discussed.

Member’s willingness to contribute, and commitment to supporting one another, by sharing their Equally Safe at Work journey, highlighting good practice examples and sharing of resources are what makes the Community of Practice both meaningful and impactful. Members consistently highlight the benefit of connecting with others across sectors, exchanging ideas and learning from each other’s experiences. They not only continue to attend sessions, but participation is steadily growing as new organisations join. This sustained engagement reflects how valuable participants find the peer learning support network.

As we are aware of how busy the working day can be, with capacity and staffing challenges, attending events might not always be possible. That’s why we created our own Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice KHub page to be a collaborative space where employers could provide further support, exchange information and access resources. Although this is a restricted group page, it’s open to those who are working on Equally Safe at Work and for those interested in joining the programme and/or advancing gender equality within their organisation.

What to expect from the Community of Practice in 2026

Joining the Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice is a great, free and easy way to connect with employers across the public and third sector who are working towards the same goal of advancing gender equality at work.

The sessions in 2026 will continue to focus on key areas that are central to the Equally Safe at Work accreditation programme and will also explore specialised topics including occupational health and safety and gender, and explore different forms of violence against women, such as ‘honour’-based abuse.

The programme of meetings will continue to build on what works and will be shaped by what members would like to see, including more members experiences of going through the process of accreditation, what it’s like reaching certain milestones within the programme and to hear what works well.

Begin your journey now

Visit Equally Safe at Work, for more information.