Chained to the kitchen table: Is flexible working confining women back in the home?

The Welsh Government has declared itself a ‘feminist government’ with the aim of advancing the gender equality in Wales. This bold ambition requires barriers to be removed so women can fully participate in economic, social and political activity. For the workplace, this ambition may be progressed by the implementation of Employee Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 which allows all employees to request flexible working from the first day of employment. However, current societal attitudes in Wales meaning that women still hold the most significant responsibility for childcare and this remains a barrier to women’s economic participation. There is a gap in the literature exploring how women in Wales are navigating the societal tension and expectation by using flexible working as a means to economic activity. Furthermore, there is a gap examining how women in Wales feel about this dichotic experience. By using the Zaltman Metaphor Technique (ZMET) as means to explore the deep metaphors and exploring unconscious attitudes to the topic at hand, this research aims to answer the question, are women now chained to the kitchen table instead of the kitchen sink?