Understanding issues faced by low income families
A new joint project by Victoria and Canterbury Universities is focused on raising awareness of the issues faced by low-wage workers with family responsibilities, and increasing the use of legal institutions to benefit these families.
Dr Amanda Reilly from the School of Accounting and Commercial Law and an associate of the Centre for Labour Employment and Work at Victoria Business School is working with Associate Professor Annick Masselot and Dr Sanna Malinen from Canterbury on the research project, which aims to contribute to the development of strong policies to address the needs of low-wage workers.
As academics and working mothers, the three researchers have faced their own challenges with work-family reconciliation, but say they are aware that they are in a relatively privileged position of having stable and reasonably well-paid jobs.
"Rather than adding to the already copious literature on the struggles of professional women we thought it was important to broaden the discourse and to investigate the challenges encountered by other, less privileged and often invisible, workers," says Dr Reilly.
To ensure their research and recommendations are relevant and useful, the team’s work will be informed by the latest international research and by insights from people at the coalface of advising and representing low-wage workers, as well as by workers themselves.
The insights and perspectives of employers will also be critical to the project.
"While we cannot change the law ourselves, we aim to ensure that our law makers have access to research-informed recommendations which will draw on a comprehensive review of international best practice, as well as an in-depth understanding of issues specific to New Zealand," says Dr Reilly.
Dr Sanna Malinen is an organisational psychologist, providing an excellent complement to Dr Reilly and Associate Professor Malinen’s legal skills.
"Sanna brings a focus on employers’ needs as well as quantitative analysis skills to the project," says Dr Reilly.
In addition to raising awareness, the project includes legal analyses, qualitative interviews with low-wage workers with family responsibilities and their employers as well as interviews with people who work in community groups that advise low-wage workers.
A survey of employers will be conducted to understand the barriers to implementing work-family reconciliation and identify ways forward.
The project also includes a specific Kaupapa Māori component. Dr Reilly will be involved in all four strands of the project but expects to have the greatest input into developing the legal analysis and recommendations.
"As a Wellington-based academic, I am in a good position to make contact with, and maintain relationships with, a number of organisations that are based here and are participating in and supporting the project."