Mothers’ earnings are dramatically hit after having children, even affecting mothers five years after birth, according to ONS Data.
The first child brings the most substantial and persistent pay cut to mothers, whose average monthly earnings drop significantly, culminating in an eyewatering £65,618 total loss in earnings over five years following the birth of a first child.
Rebecca Horne, who is head of communications and campaigns at Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “If men experienced this kind of penalty for becoming parents, it would have been fixed years ago.
“All this data does is confirm what mothers have known for decades, which is the moment you have children, your pay nosedives — and that’s the price the mums are paying.
“Being able to have kids these days feels like a bit of a luxury when you look at the cost.
“It’s completely wrong.”
While the impact on earnings becomes less severe after the birth of second or third children, it is still a notable and persistent decline.
Mother’s loss in earnings for their second child is £26,317, whereas the third child brings a loss of £32,456.
The biggest reduction in earnings comes six months after the birth of the first child, where the mother loses £1,553.26.
Notably, earnings for all births begin to decline nine months before the birth.
First time mothers are hit the hardest, having lost just over £650 even before the birth of their child.
Motherhood brings several financial shortfalls; one being the incredibly high cost of childcare.
Childcare costs in London are the highest in England, and while the working parent entitlement helps cover some of the cost of childcare, it is still disproportionately more expensive.
Neil Leitch, who is the CEO of Early Years Alliance, said: “None of it really surprises me.
“When parents are telling me that they’ve been paying more on their childcare and education than they have on their mortgage, I don’t think we should be stunned by it.”
The working parent entitlement gives parents 30 hours of free childcare, but it is dependent on the child’s age and the parent’s employment.
If your child is aged between nine months and four years old and your adjusted net income is under £100,000, you are then entitled to 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year.
Despite receiving free childcare, parents can still be asked to pay for meals, nappies, extra hours and activities, such as trips.
While the working parents entitlement helps to bring down the cost of childcare to working parents, many believe this is an unfair system and punishes stay at home parents.
In response to this, Leitch said: “The criticism we have of that particular scheme is that it is only for working parents.
“Early years education should be for every child and if you are a child where your parents cannot work, for example, that is not the fault of the child, and that child should be entitled to care and education, particularly care and development.”
Part of the reason why motherhood has a detrimental impact on earnings is because it significantly reduces the probability of the mother being in paid employment, which leads to an erosion of earnings.
While the largest reduction comes one and a half years after the birth of the first child where there was a 15% drop in the probability of employment, there is still a stark reduction following the births of second and third children.
This is due to the fact that many mothers move to a part-time job or become stay at home mothers, because they struggle to find a flexible job which can adapt easily around childcare.
Lucy, who is a solo mother to two daughters, said: “Following the birth of my second daughter, I was essentially managed out of that CEO role, whilst on maternity leave.
“I have struggled to find a job that suits my skill set and ideal requirements for flexibility as a solo parent.
“I am in receipt of Universal Credit, which makes up about 50% of my income.
“My finances are a constant source of worry to me and I find the Universal Credit system almost punitive.”
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