'We're exploited': More young women are working while they study, but they're getting 'harassed and underpaid'

• Young women are 50% more likely than young men to work during their studies
• But sexual harassment at work is a widespread issue
• Student workers sometimes felt unsafe in the workplace, and often felt powerless
• Experts are calling for employers, schools and universities to work together to make things better for them

Young women have shared their shocking experiences of being underpaid and feeling "exploited" while working alongside their education.

More young women are working while they study to cover rising living costs - but in doing so, they’re risking exploitation, sexual harassment, and burnout.

One woman who’d waitressed since she was a young teen had been given no food or breaks, getting paid about £4 an hour. Another said her manager didn’t tell her when minimum wage had gone up, while others had been inappropriately touched by customers.

It comes as researchers from the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and City St George’s London publish new research on ‘Earning While Learning’, exploring how students across England are navigating part-time work alongside their education. They found that while young people as a whole were facing growing financial pressure, more young women were resorting to part-time work than their male peers.

The researchers heard that on top of the extra cash, they were building self-confidence and honing valuable skills. But at the same time, students were working long hours, being underpaid, and having their rights ignored in the workplace - and they’re calling for educators and employers alike to step up.

But just how bad is the problem, and what needs to change to protect working students? Here’s what you need to know:

‘Unsafe and powerless’

The researchers analysed national datasets, before conducting focus group interviews with 83 young women about their experiences in paid employment. They were aged between 14 and 23 years old, and attended schools, further education colleges, sixth forms, and universities across the country.

Lead investigator Professor Kim Allen, from the University of Leeds’ School of Sociology and Social Policy, said they found that young women were 50% more likely than their male peers to work while studying, “and therefore are more likely to be navigating the challenges of this poorly paid - and often intensive - work alongside their studies”.

“Student work is not new. However, as the costs of living continue to rise, young people are increasingly having to support themselves – and often their family – through part time jobs,” she said. “These jobs offer a range of benefits and meanings for young people, but they also present challenges. Our research shows that students are not only poorly paid but often feel unsafe and powerless in the workplace.”

Sexual harassment at work was a widespread issue for young women, the team found, and pay for student workers was low, often below national minimum wage levels for their age. Some students were resorting to working long or inconvenient hours - even to their own detriment.

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“Students often work unsociable hours – including evenings and weekends – and find themselves forced to pick up work shifts that are hard to fill,” Professor Allen continued. Combining working and studying could result in negative outcomes, including anxiety and burnout.

Many of the students also lacked knowledge of their rights or legal pay rates, the study found, or said they felt unable to assert their rights to their employers.

‘Difficult to get change’

One participant, named as Laura, said: “It’s really difficult because a lot of jobs you’re getting quite exploited, it’s kind of difficult to try and get change or say anything about it really, because employers don’t really care.” Another, Norah, told researchers: “I had an issue where my boss didn’t tell me that minimum wage had gone up... I got underpaid massively.... I think it was like £70 odd quid that I was not paid.”

A participant called Esme said she had started waitressing when she was just 13 years old. “[I] worked long weekends... I didn’t get breaks. They didn’t feed me. I was on like, below... £4 an hour… I was spending all my time there, sometimes over 12 hours.”

Marina told them about her experience with harassment. “I’ve worked in a lot of bars and clubs and I find that the harassment is really, really, bad, like people will touch you… They’re very persistent… I have the authority to get someone to call and get them banned, it’s not difficult, but you also kind of can’t do it to every single person, because they’re your money, they’re your clients. Sometimes you just have to suck it up.”

There was often a perception that student work was a more informal or short-term arrangement. But the researchers said this was not the reality - and it was one of the things that needed to change to create a fairer landscape.

Professor Allen said: “Contrary to the widespread idea that students are transitory or temporary workers, we found that a large proportion are in fact with the same employer for more than a year. Students are very important to employers; in some sectors like retail and hospitality, they make up over 20% of the workforce.”

The researchers said that employers, trade unions, and education providers needed to come together, and make employment fairer for students. Professor Allen said that they could play a big part in improving working conditions, and supporting students in knowing – and standing up for – their rights in the workplace.

“Rather than ban students from working, we urge educational institutions, employers and unions to work together to improve the conditions of student work and support young people to engage in meaningful, decent and fair work,” she added.

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