This Motherhood Cost: Women Forfeit £65,618 in Pay by Age First Child Reaches Five
Government data show that mothers experience a substantial loss of around £65,600 in earnings by the time their eldest child reaches five, highlighting the so-called “maternal price” that jeopardizes their economic stability.
Significant and Long-Lasting Earnings Reduction
Women in the UK face a “substantial and long-lasting reduction” in their earnings following giving birth to a child, as they are less likely to stay in paid employment, per research.
Analysis showed that women’s typical each month earnings had decreased by 42%, or over £1,000 monthly, five years following the arrival of their eldest child, compared with their earnings 12 months before the child’s arrival.
Cumulative Losses Across Multiple Children
This translates to a forfeiture of £65,618 across a five-year period, based on the research, which tracked earnings information from 2014 through 2022.
Typically, there is an further loss of around £26,300 following the birth of a second baby, and then a additional over £32,400 following the birth of a third baby.
Women are being “penalized for parenting, sidelined at their jobs, and expected to just absorb the financial burden.”
“Moreover, the more children you have, the steeper the decline. It’s not a gentle drop - it’s a economic nosedive resulting in financial loss of more than £100,000 for a mother of three children.”
Severe Effect on Living Standards
Experts labeled the drop in income as “severe for women’s quality of life.”
“Money is independence, and depriving mothers of that independence because they chose to become mothers is nothing short of unacceptable.”
The figures reflect the unfair reality for employed women, with demands for parental leave rules to be brought into the 21st century.
“Solving the motherhood price needs updating family leave policies into the modern era, ensuring all mothers and partners get ample compensated time off when they start as caregivers – we should properly accommodate parenting together with work, not in opposition to it.”
Existing Parental Leave Policies
Shared parental leave was introduced in 2014, allowing parents to share up to almost a year of time off, and up to over eight months of earnings after the arrival or adoption of a child.
Yet, usage has remained minimal.
Under existing regulations, maternity leave is compensated at ninety percent of a mother’s average weekly income for the first six weeks, then decreases to the lowest of either around £187 a per week or ninety percent of the woman’s typical salary for 33 weeks.
Expectant dads can receive 14 days compensated time off at a amount of either £187.18 a per week or 90% of average weekly pay, whichever one is less.
Official Examination and Early Years Funding
The government has promised positive measures from establishing flexible working the default, to enhanced protections for pregnant women and day-one fathers’ leave.
However with nursery support for children aged nine months old and older just now rolling out and nurseries in some areas struggling to meet demand, there’s still a considerable distance to go before women are on an level playing field.
In September, working parents who have an income below £100k a year became qualified for 30 hours of government-funded nursery care a week during school terms for kids aged nine months to four years old.
The roll-out comes as the early care sector encounters staffing and financial challenges.
A survey found that 94% of nurseries were likely to raise their rates for ineligible households.
