5. Invisible Labour, Visible Consequences: Scotland’s Care Economy in Crisis

Dr Helen O’Shea is a Senior Lecturer in History with the Open University in Scotland. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Historical Society, and her research has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

A translated author, her research spans modern Irish, British and imperial history, including twentieth-century colonial warfare and the history of women’s workplace struggles in Scotland. She has also served as academic lead for several BBC–Open University co-productions, including BBC Scotland’s Women Who Changed Modern Scotland with Kirsty Wark and BBC Two’s Union series with David Olusoga.

Her current research examines emergency law and order in the post-Second World War British Empire and its consequences for civil liberties. Alongside this, she has a strong interest in higher education policy, particularly student access, retention and progression, with a focus on under-represented adult learners and unpaid carers.

Lynn is an unpaid carer and campaigner, and works in the charity sector.  She cared for her amazing husband, Derek, until he died in 2022.  She continues to provide support for family members, and to be passionate about (although increasingly frustrated by) politics and policy making. 

Carole Erskine is the Head of Policy and Campaigns for Pregnant Then Screwed (Scotland). In this capacity, she leads work on developing and advocating for policy changes that address the “motherhood penalty” — the disadvantages that pregnant people and mothers can face in employment, pay, and career progression. Before joining Pregnant Then Screwed, Carole spent over 15 years as a TV reporter and broadcast journalist working in Scotland and London. She later moved into roles in research, events, and communications — most recently with the John Smith Centre at the University of Glasgow.
Carole is a mother of two young children. Through personal experience of discrimination and the barriers faced by working mothers, she is deeply motivated to campaign for systemic change to support working parents. She is publicly visible in media and policy debates — for instance commenting on how childcare costs affect women’s decisions around work and family in Scotland.