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Government figures show that women face a significant loss of £65,618 in earnings by the time their first baby reaches five years old, exposing the so-called “maternal price” that threatens their economic stability.

Substantial and Long-Lasting Pay Decline

Women in England experience a “significant and prolonged drop” in their earnings after giving birth to children, as they are less likely to remain in the workforce, as stated by analysis.

Research found that mothers’ average monthly earnings had dropped by forty-two percent, or £1,051 per month, 60 months after the birth of their eldest baby, versus their earnings 12 months prior to the child’s arrival.

Total Financial Impact Across Several Children

It equates to a loss of over £65,600 across five years, based on the analysis, which monitored earnings data from 2014 through 2022.

Typically, there is an additional reduction of £26,317 after the birth of a second child, and then a subsequent over £32,400 after the birth of a third child.

Mothers are getting “penalized for caring, sidelined at work, and expected to just absorb the cost.”

“Moreover, the more children you have, the greater the fall. It’s not a gentle decline - it’s a financial nosedive causing financial damage of over £100,000 for a mother of three kids.”

Severe Effect on Living Standards

Commentators described the decline in income as “catastrophic for women’s quality of life.”

“Money is independence, and stripping mothers of that freedom because they chose to become parents is absolutely unacceptable.”

Data reflect the unjust situation for mothers in the workforce, with demands for parental leave rules to be updated into the 21st century.

“Tackling the maternal price demands bringing parental leave policies into the 21st century, making sure both parents and fathers get adequate paid leave when they start as parents – we should properly support parenthood alongside employment, not in opposition to it.”

Current Family Leave Policies

Shared parental leave was established in 2014, allowing couples to share up to 50 weeks of time off, and up to 37 weeks of earnings after the arrival or adoption of a baby.

Yet, uptake has stayed low.

Under current rules, mothers’ leave is compensated at ninety percent of a woman’s average weekly income for the first six weeks, then falls to the lesser of either around £187 a per week or 90% of the mother’s average pay for 33 weeks.

New dads can take two weeks’ paid leave at a amount of either £187.18 a per week or ninety percent of typical each week income, whichever one is lowest.

Official Review and Early Years Funding

The government has pledged positive steps from making flexible working the default, to enhanced safeguards for pregnant women and day-one fathers’ leave.

But with childcare funding for children aged nine months old plus only just rolling out and childcare providers in some areas finding it hard to meet demand, there’s yet a considerable distance to go before women are on an equal footing.

Recently, working parents who earn up to £100,000 a annually were eligible for thirty hours of state-supported childcare a per week during school terms for kids aged nine months to four years.

The roll-out comes as the early care industry encounters recruitment and funding challenges.

A survey revealed that 94% of nurseries were expected to raise their rates for non-eligible households.