🔗 Share this article This Maternal Penalty: Women Lose £65,618 in Earnings by Age First Baby Reaches Five Years Old Government data show that women suffer a significant reduction of around £65,600 in pay by the point their eldest baby reaches five years old, highlighting the termed “motherhood price” that threatens their economic stability. Significant and Enduring Earnings Decline Mothers in the UK undergo a “considerable and long-lasting reduction” in their pay after having children, as they become less likely to remain in a job, per analysis. Analysis showed that women’s typical monthly earnings had decreased by 42%, or £1,051 monthly, five years following the birth of their eldest baby, relative to their earnings one year prior to the birth. Cumulative Losses For Multiple Children It translates to a forfeiture of over £65,600 over a five-year period, per the study, which monitored pay data from 2014 through 2022. Typically, there is an further reduction of around £26,300 following the arrival of a second child, and then a subsequent over £32,400 following the arrival of a third child. Mothers are getting “penalized for caring, marginalized at work, and assumed to just absorb the expense.” “And, the more children you have, the deeper the fall. It’s not a gradual drop - it’s a economic freefall leading to economic loss of over £100,000 for a mother of three kids.” Catastrophic Impact on Quality of Life Commentators described the reduction in income as “catastrophic for women’s well-being.” “Money is independence, and depriving mothers of that freedom because they chose to become parents is nothing short of outrageous.” Statistics reflect the unjust reality for employed women, with calls for family leave policies to be updated into the 21st century. “Addressing the motherhood price demands bringing parental leave policies into the modern era, making sure both parents and fathers get ample compensated time off when they start as parents – we should properly support parenting together with employment, not in opposition to it.” Existing Parental Leave Rules Shared family leave was established in 2014, allowing parents to share up to almost a year of leave, and up to 37 weeks of earnings following the arrival or adopting of a child. However, usage has stayed low. Under existing regulations, maternity leave is paid at 90% of a woman’s typical weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then decreases to the lowest of either £187.18 a per week or ninety percent of the woman’s average pay for 33 weeks. New fathers can take two weeks’ paid leave at a rate of either £187.18 a week or 90% of typical each week pay, whichever is less. Official Examination and Childcare Funding The government has promised positive steps from making adaptable schedules the default, to stronger safeguards for expectant mothers and day-one paternity rights. However with nursery support for kids from nine months old plus only just being introduced and nurseries in certain regions finding it hard to meet demand, there’s yet a long way to go before mothers are on an level playing field. In September, employed mothers and fathers who have an income below £100k a year were eligible for thirty hours of government-funded nursery care a week during term time for kids aged nine months old to four years. This initiative comes as the early care sector encounters recruitment and financial difficulties. A survey found that ninety-four percent of childcare centers were expected to increase their prices for ineligible households.