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Official statistics reveal that mothers face a staggering loss of £65,618 in income by the point their eldest child reaches five years old, highlighting the termed “motherhood penalty” that risks their financial security.

Significant and Enduring Earnings Reduction

Women in England face a “substantial and enduring reduction” in their earnings after giving birth to a child, as they become less likely to stay in paid employment, according to research.

The study showed that mothers’ average monthly pay had dropped by 42%, or £1,051 each month, 60 months following the birth of their eldest child, compared with their pay 12 months before the birth.

Cumulative Losses Across Several Children

This amounts to a forfeiture of over £65,600 over five years, per the study, which followed pay information from 2014 through 2022.

On average, there is an extra loss of £26,317 after the arrival of a second child, and then a further over £32,400 following the arrival of a third baby.

Women are being “punished for caring, sidelined at their jobs, and assumed to just bear the expense.”

“And, the more kids you have, the greater the drop. It’s not a gentle decline - it is a financial freefall causing economic loss of over £100,000 for a mother of three children.”

Severe Impact on Quality of Life

Experts labeled the reduction in income as “severe for women’s living standards.”

“Income is independence, and stripping women of that independence because they chose to become parents is nothing short of scandalous.”

The figures reflect the unjust reality for employed women, with demands for parental leave rules to be updated into the modern era.

“Solving the motherhood penalty demands bringing family leave policies into the modern era, making sure both mothers and partners get sufficient compensated time off when they become caregivers – we should properly support parenting together with work, not in spite of it.”

Existing Family Leave Policies

Joint family leave was established in recent years, permitting couples to share up to almost a year of leave, and up to over eight months of earnings after the arrival or adopting of a child.

However, uptake has stayed low.

According to current rules, maternity leave is paid at 90% of a woman’s typical weekly earnings for the initial six weeks, then decreases to the lesser of either £187.18 a week or 90% of the woman’s average salary for over seven months.

Expectant dads can receive two weeks’ compensated time off at a rate of either around £187 a per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is less.

Government Review and Childcare Funding

The government has pledged positive measures from establishing adaptable schedules the standard, to enhanced safeguards for expectant mothers and immediate fathers’ leave.

Yet with childcare funding for children aged nine months old and older just now rolling out and childcare providers in certain regions struggling to meet demand, there’s still a considerable distance to go before women are on an level playing field.

Recently, working parents who have an income below £100k a year were qualified for thirty hours of state-supported nursery care a per week during school terms for children aged nine months to four years.

The roll-out comes as the early care sector faces staffing and financial challenges.

Research found that 94% of childcare centers were likely to raise their fees for ineligible families.