Female care leavers and the construction of identity
Many women exiting the care system, despite the barriers they face, receive exemplary grades and obtain employment in highly competitive fields such as business, law, social care, politics and finance. However, statistically this isn’t as common as it should be. Statistically, the barriers facing these young women can have serious impacts on their lives, with the complexities of being a woman intersecting with the experience of leaving care. Emotional barriers such as building confidence in order to navigate male-dominated workforces and the pressures of conforming to gender roles which don’t necessarily reflect their identity often tend to go unspoken, underexplored and unsupported by governmental and other relevant authorities.