Working but not employed: Mothers of adults with intellectual disability as hidden workers

^†This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Ian Dempsey.

Abstract

Background Earlier research shows that nonemployed mothers of children with intellectual disability (ID) have lower wellbeing than employed mothers. This study explored why and to what extent these mothers did not participate in the labour market.

Method An in-depth interview was employed, and 18 working-age and nonemployed mothers in Taiwan who had an adult child with ID were interviewed in their homes between July 2009 and May 2010.

Results The mothers left the labour market at different stages of the family life cycle due to a lack of formal/informal support for the care needs of their young children, and the continuing intensive care needs of their child with ID. Mothers were officially nonemployed; however, to meet their family's financial needs, they were hidden workers in practice.

Conclusions Policies are required that support these hidden female workers, who are also lifelong carers, by offering financial support and affordable social services.

Keywords:

• mother
• hidden worker
• care
• employment
• intellectual disability
• Taiwan

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants who gave up their time and took part in our interviews. We are also grateful to two reviewers and Teppo Kröger for helpful comments.

Funding

This paper draws on data collected for a project funded by the National Science Council in Taiwan (NSC98-2621-M-010-001) and also in cooperation with the international WoCaWo project (https://www.jyu.fi/ytk/laitokset/yfi/en/research/projects/wocawo).

Conflicts of interest

No conflicts of interest have been declared.

Notes

^† This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Ian Dempsey.

1. Conventional: Women who had left the labour force upon marriage or the birth of their first child and who had not returned to the labour force. Interrupted: Women who had left the labour force upon marriage or the birth of their first child and who had returned after the last child was born. Double track: women who returned to the labour force before the last child had been born. Unstable: women who had left and entered the labour force several times (Sørensen, 1983, p. 313).

2. In Taiwan, disability welfare benefits are only available to those who are diagnosed with a disability, have the approval of the local government, and have been provided with a disability certificate or handbook. The level of disability is categorised into four levels, namely, mild, moderate, severe, and profound, which are based on the individual's medical diagnosis. The diagnosis of ID is based on the individual's IQ score and her or his neurological examination results, mental health situation, self-care ability, communication skills, and maladaptive behaviour.

3. The interview guide is available upon request from the corresponding author.