'One-Parent Families and Vulnerability Network'

PI - Dr Janet Greenlees
Co-I - Prof Lindsey Earner-Byrne

(AHRC Research Network Grant, AH/Y007077/1, £46,494, 2024-2025)

Over the past decades the number of one-parent families has continually risen. Figures vary considerably by country. In 2016 the OECD noted that this family profile was more commonly found in predominantly white, anglophone countries. For example, in 2021, 15.4% of children in the UK were raised by lone parents (Office of National Statistics), in Ireland the rate is 25.4% (OneFamily), while in Australia and New Zealand the rates were 14.2% (Australian Bureau of Statistics -ABS) and 30%, respectively (OECD). The vast majority of one-parent families have always been, and continue to be, female-headed: in the UK the rate is 90% (Gingerbread), in Ireland it is 86.4% (One Family), while in Australia and New Zealand the rates are 79.9% (ABS) and 83% (StatsNZ), respectively. 

Female-headed families have always been economically, socially, and medically vulnerable. They are more likely to live in poverty and have poorer health and educational outcomes than two-parent families. Despite changing social attitudes, they continue to be subjected to social and political stigma. The contemporary organisations dedicated to supporting one-parent families, in particular single mothers and their children, have stemmed from the voluntary groups which previously cared for unwed mothers.

This network brings together leading historians, archivists, and key organisations in the field. These organisations are linked through imperial connections and historical relationships of cooperation, with a long history of advocating for oneparent families: Gingerbread (England), One Parent Families Scotland, One Family Ireland, Birthright (New Zealand) and Single Mother Families and the Council of Single Mothers and their Children (Australia). The aim is to provide fresh insights into particular periods, organisations and case studies, share archival and research material and expertise, and to explore the potential of comparative perspectives to raising greater contemporary awareness and informing policy.