Mothers lose an average of £65,618 in pay by the time their first child turns five, as the “motherhood penalty” risks their financial security, official figures show.
Mums in England are hit by a “substantial and long-lasting reduction” in their pay after they have children, as they become less likely to stay in paid employment, the Office for National Statistics have said.
It found that women’s average monthly earnings had fallen by 42%, or £1,051 per month, five years after the birth of their first child, compared with their pay one year before the birth.
This equates to a loss of £65,618 over five years, according to the analysis, which tracked pay data from 2014 to 2022. On average, there is an additional £26,317 loss after the birth of a second child, and then a further £32,456 after the birth of a third child.
Rachel Grocott, chief executive of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, said mothers were being “punished for caring, sidelined at work, and expected to just absorb the cost”.
“And the more children you have, the deeper the drop. It’s not a gentle decline – it’s a financial freefall resulting in financial loss of over £100,000 for a mother of three children,” she said.
Joeli Brearley, chief executive of the back to work consultancy Growth Spurt, said the drop in earnings was “catastrophic for women’s quality of life”.
“Money is freedom, and stripping women of that freedom because they became mothers is nothing short of scandalous,” she said.
Alice Martin, of Lancaster University, said the figures reflected the unfair reality for working mothers.
“Addressing the motherhood penalty requires bringing parental leave policies into the 21st century, ensuring both mothers and fathers get ample paid time off when they become parents – we should properly accommodate parenthood alongside work, not in spite of it,” she said.
The government introduced shared parental leave in 2014, which allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave, and up to 37 weeks of pay after the birth or adoption of a child.
However, uptake has remained low. This year the government announced an official review of parental leave, including plans to simplify the system for parents and employers.
Under the rules, maternity leave is paid at 90% of a mother’s average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then falls to the lowest of either £187.18 a week or 90% of the mother’s average salary for 33 weeks.
New fathers can take two weeks’ paid leave at a rate of either £187.18 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lowest.
Martin said: “The government has pledged positive steps from making flexible working the default, to stronger protections for pregnant women and day-one paternity rights.
“But with childcare funding for children aged nine months-plus only just rolling out and nurseries in some areas struggling to accommodate demand, there’s still a long way to go before mothers are on an equal footing.”
In September, working parents who earn up to £100,000 a year became eligible for 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week during term time for children aged nine months to four years.
The rollout comes as the early care sector faces recruitment and funding challenges. A survey in March by the charity Early Years Alliance found 94% of nurseries were likely to increase their rates for non-eligible families.
