Nearly half a million young women are not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest number in a decade. Yet their specific experiences and needs are largely missing from the response to the NEET crisis.
Intro:
Our report, Hard to Stay Hopeful: Young Women’s Experiences of Being NEET, explores why young women aged 18–30 are out of education, employment or training, the barriers they face when trying to enter or stay in work, and what needs to change.
If Government is serious about increasing young people’s economic participation, it must recognise that one-size-fits-all solutions will not work.
Read the full report
What does NEET mean?
NEET stands for “not in education, employment or training”. It describes young people who are not currently studying, working or undertaking training.
Being NEET does not mean all young people are unemployed or looking for work. Young people who are NEET can be either unemployed and looking for work or economically inactive and not currently looking for work.
For young women, this distinction matters. Young women who are NEET are much more likely than young men to be economically inactive, including because of caring responsibilities, poor mental health or disability.
Why are young women NEET?
Young women are not out of work for the same reasons as young men. They are far more likely to be economically inactive – not even looking for work.
This is because young women who are NEET are more likely to be:
- Caring for children or other family members
- Managing poor mental health or disability.
For those who are looking for work, the entry level opportunities that used to be available for young women – such as in retail and hospitality – are disappearing from the economy fastest.
What are the barriers facing young women who are NEET?
The system isn’t designed around the realities of young women’s lives.
Fast-diminishing accessible entry-level opportunities, inflexible work, fragmented support, and scarce help with caring responsibilities are common system gaps which young women are falling through.
And the quality of work matters. Insecurity, discrimination and poor conditions can push women back out of work.
Confidence and self-belief are also a key building block to supporting young women to work.
Young Women’s Trust research found that:
More than 3 in 10 young women aged 18-30 who weren’t working or learning are out of work because they are looking after children.
- Mental health has prevented more than 3 in 10 young women who out of work from applying for a job.
- Young women have experienced a steady decline in job opportunities since 2023, and are feeling this more than young men. In 2026, more than half of young women disagree that there are enough job opportunities accessible to them in their local area, compared to 39% of young men.
- Lack of flexibility has made it difficult to apply for a job for more than 3 in 10 unemployed young women.
- Discrimination presents an additional barrier to work for disabled young women, young mums and carers. More than 4 in 10 young women with a mental health condition have been discriminated against because of their mental health.
- More than 1 in 5 young mums have been discriminated against because of their caring responsibilities.
Read the full report
Young Women’s Trust is calling for:
- Better routes into good-quality work
- Flexible work and training by default
- Integrated, personalised employment support
- Childcare and caring support that enables participation
- Gender-responsive youth employment policy.
Young women who are NEET need more than a route into any job. They need access to good-quality, secure and flexible work, alongside the support they need to participate in education, training and employment.