The Maternal Price: Mothers Forfeit £65,618 in Pay by Time Their Child Turns Five

Official statistics reveal that women suffer a significant loss of around £65,600 in earnings by the time their eldest child reaches five years old, exposing the termed “maternal price” that risks their economic stability.

Significant and Enduring Earnings Decline

Mothers in the UK face a “substantial and enduring reduction” in their pay after giving birth to children, as they become less likely to remain in paid employment, according to findings.

The study showed that mothers’ typical monthly income had dropped by forty-two percent, or over £1,000 per month, 60 months following the birth of their first baby, compared with their pay one year prior to the child’s arrival.

Total Losses Across Multiple Children

This equates to a loss of over £65,600 across a five-year period, according to the analysis, which followed pay data from 2014 to 2022.

Typically, there is an further reduction of around £26,300 following the arrival of a second baby, and then a subsequent £32,456 following the arrival of a third baby.

Women are getting “punished for parenting, sidelined at their jobs, and assumed to just bear the financial burden.”

“And, the more children you have, the greater the drop. This isn’t a gentle decline - it is a economic freefall leading to financial damage of more than £100,000 for a mother of 3 children.”

Severe Effect on Living Standards

Commentators described the reduction in pay as “severe for mothers’ living standards.”

“Money is freedom, and depriving women of that freedom because they became mothers is absolutely unacceptable.”

The figures mirror the unjust reality for employed women, with demands for parental leave policies to be brought into the 21st century.

“Tackling the maternal penalty needs bringing family leave rules into the modern era, making sure all mothers and partners get adequate compensated leave when they start as parents – we should properly support parenting together with work, not in spite of it.”

Current Family Leave Policies

Shared family leave was established in recent years, permitting parents to share up to almost a year of leave, and up to 37 weeks of pay following the birth or adopting of a baby.

But, uptake has stayed low.

Under current regulations, maternity leave is compensated at 90% of a woman’s typical weekly income for the first one and a half months, then falls to the lowest of either around £187 a per week or ninety percent of the woman’s average salary for over seven months.

Expectant fathers can receive 14 days paid time off at a amount of either £187.18 a week or ninety percent of typical each week pay, whichever one is lowest.

Official Review and Childcare Support

The government has pledged favorable steps from establishing adaptable schedules the default, to stronger safeguards for pregnant women and day-one paternity rights.

But with nursery support for children from nine months plus only just being introduced and nurseries in certain regions struggling to accommodate demand, there’s still a considerable distance to go before women are on an equal footing.

Recently, employed mothers and fathers who have an income below £100,000 a year became qualified for 30 hours of state-supported childcare a week during school terms for kids aged nine months old to four years old.

This initiative comes as the early care industry faces recruitment and financial challenges.

A survey revealed that ninety-four percent of childcare centers were expected to raise their rates for non-eligible households.