Manchester Focus launches on Friday 6th February with VIP guest Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, highlighting the growing challenges women face in the region’s job market.

New research from the charity Smart Works shows women across the UK are applying for more jobs, receiving less feedback, and feeling increasingly less confident as a result of the job search process.

The findings come from The Gendered Reality of Job Seeking: The Smart Works Index 2025. While the national Index draws on data from 4,651 women, the Greater Manchester edition highlights 743 local contributors, representing the voices of 1,120 unemployed women supported by Smart Works Greater Manchester in 2025. The Index provides one of the most detailed, human-centred views of women’s experiences of unemployment.

Women submit an average of 43 job applications before securing an interview that leads to a job, with one in three applying for more than 50 roles, often without a single conversation with an employer. 64% report that the process reduces their confidence.

The Greater Manchester Focus Index is sponsored by Morson Group, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and supporting employers to access the full potential of female talent.

Victoria Cronquist, Head of Smart Works Greater Manchester, said: “The resilience of the women behind every statistic is striking. They persist even as confidence wears thin. Women are ready to work – the question is whether hiring processes are ready to see them. Smart Works Greater Manchester exists to close that gap.”

The Index highlights three trends shaping women’s job-seeking experiences in 2025:

Effort rises, opportunity does not: Automated and unresponsive recruitment processes offer little feedback, and gaps linked to caring, health or age remain penalised.
Confidence eroded: Nearly two thirds of women feel “less confident than usual,” with silence, unclear expectations and repeated rejection steadily undermining them.
Inequalities persist: Disabled women report the steepest drops in confidence, women from ethnic minority backgrounds apply for more roles but have lower success, and parents, carers and women aged 50+ face longer searches where flexibility is limited.
Young women now make up 26% of those supported, up from 21% in 2023. Barriers include limited experience, caring responsibilities and disrupted education. Smart Works’ confidence-building support helps them move into sustainable employment. Early intervention at the start of working life is vital in tackling inequality and strengthening long-term economic independence.

Despite a tightening labour market, with rising long-term unemployment and falling vacancy levels, Smart Works Greater Manchester achieved a 64% job success rate in 2025. All clients reported that the support they received increased their chances of securing a job.

Emma Pickering, Chair of Smart Works Greater Manchester, said: “We focus on reaching women most in need. In Greater Manchester, 25% of the population live in the 10% most deprived areas, and 38% of our clients come from these neighbourhoods. More than a quarter are under 25. Early intervention at the start of a woman’s working life is critical. This is the work we deliver every day.”

Ged Mason OBE, Executive Chairman of Morson Group, said: “We support employers to build diverse teams and inclusive cultures. The Smart Works Unemployment Index highlights the real challenges women face, offering solutions employers can adopt to break down barriers and leverage female talent pools. We are proud to continue Morson’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by sponsoring this report.”

Key statistics from the 2025 Index:

Average of 43 job applications before securing employment
1 in 3 women apply for more than 50 roles
63% feel less confident due to job search
38% have been out of work for over 12 months
24 hours is the average weekly job search time
64% secure employment or training