This Maternal Penalty: Mothers Lose £65,618 in Pay by Age First Child Turns Five
Official figures indicate that women suffer a staggering reduction of £65,618 in income by the time their first baby reaches five, highlighting the termed “maternal price” that risks their financial security.
Significant and Long-Lasting Earnings Decline
Women in the UK undergo a “considerable and prolonged reduction” in their income after giving birth to children, as they become less likely to stay in paid employment, according to findings.
The study showed that mothers’ average each month earnings had dropped by 42%, or £1,051 monthly, 60 months after the birth of their eldest baby, versus their earnings one year before the child’s arrival.
Cumulative Losses Across Several Children
It equates to a forfeiture of over £65,600 across a five-year period, according to the study, which tracked pay data from 2014 through 2022.
On average, there is an additional reduction of around £26,300 following the arrival of a second child, and then a additional £32,456 following the arrival of a third baby.
Women are getting “penalized for parenting, marginalized at their jobs, and assumed to just bear the financial burden.”
“Moreover, the more kids you have, the deeper the decline. This isn’t a gentle decline - it is a financial nosedive leading to economic loss of over £100,000 for a mother of three children.”
Catastrophic Impact on Living Standards
Analysts labeled the decline in income as “devastating for mothers’ living standards.”
“Money is freedom, and stripping women of that independence because they chose to become parents is nothing short of outrageous.”
Data mirror the unjust situation for working mothers, with calls for family leave policies to be updated into the modern era.
“Addressing the motherhood price needs updating parental leave rules into the 21st century, ensuring both mothers and partners get adequate paid time off when they become caregivers – we should adequately accommodate parenthood together with work, not in spite of it.”
Current Parental Leave Policies
Shared family leave was established in 2014, permitting parents to share up to 50 weeks of time off, and up to over eight months of pay after the arrival or adoption of a child.
But, usage has stayed minimal.
According to current rules, maternity leave is compensated at 90% of a mother’s average each week pay for the first one and a half months, then falls to the lowest of either £187.18 a week or 90% of the woman’s average pay for over seven months.
Expectant dads can take two weeks’ compensated time off at a amount of either £187.18 a week or ninety percent of average weekly earnings, whichever one is less.
Government Examination and Early Years Support
Authorities has pledged favorable measures from making flexible working the default, to stronger protections for expectant mothers and immediate paternity rights.
However with childcare funding for kids aged nine months old and older just now rolling out and nurseries in certain regions finding it hard to meet need, there’s still a long way to go before women are on an level playing field.
Recently, employed mothers and fathers who earn up to £100,000 a annually became qualified for 30 hours of government-funded nursery care a week during school terms for kids from nine months old to four years old.
This initiative coincides with the early care sector faces recruitment and funding challenges.
A survey found that ninety-four percent of childcare centers were expected to increase their rates for ineligible families.