A new report illustrates just how costly motherhood can be. In England, mothers forfeit an average £65,618 in earnings by the time their first child is five. The increasingly vicious “motherhood penalty” now endangers their hard-won financial security. It sets in motion permanent effects on their future employment prospects and life outcomes.
These effects are compounded five years after a mother gives birth—as their monthly earnings decrease by 42 percent, or £1,051. The report further illustrates the significant and persistent pay decrease that working mothers are recently experiencing. This is a violation that should not fall through the cracks—it’s a longstanding tragedy in need of redress. Most of them become less likely to stay in paid jobs after giving birth, worsening the economic burden even more.
Rachel Grocott, chief executive of Pregnant Then Screwed, called this “injustice” towards mothers at work.
“Mothers are being punished for caring, sidelined at work, and expected to just absorb the cost.” – Rachel Grocott
The data shows that the financial cost gets worse with every additional kid. When mothers have their second child, they incur an additional financial burden of £26,317. The situation only gets worse with the arrival of a third child, increasing net loss by a further £32,456. Grocott says this compounding impact can create a fiscal freefall for mothers with more than one child.
Joeli Brearley, chief executive of Growth Spurt, described the situation as dire:
“Money is freedom, and stripping women of that freedom because they became mothers is nothing short of scandalous.” – Joeli Brearley
The report also casts a revealing eye on maternity leave policies in the UK. Maternity leave provides 90% of a mother’s weekly average earnings during the first six weeks. After that, the pay is reduced to the lower of £187.18 per week or 90% of her average weekly wage for the subsequent 33 weeks. The government launched shared parental leave in 2014. This policy makes it easier for parents to split shared leave between no more than 50 weeks, providing valuable flexibility and additional options for families. The pay in this time is still limited to £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings.
As Alice Martin illustrated, these statistics paint a sad picture of the wrong world that working moms want to live in right now.
“Addressing the motherhood penalty requires bringing parental leave policies into the 21st century, ensuring both mothers and fathers get ample paid time off when they become parents.” – Alice Martin
In September, the government expanded support for working parents earning up to £100,000 a year by providing 30 hours of government-funded childcare per week during term time for children aged nine months to four years. This new initiative aims to help relieve some of the burden weighed on families. These large mom penalty earnings gaps continue to harm mothers’ financial well-being over the long term.