The financial and emotional cost of childcare is staggering — and mothers are disproportionately shouldering that burden.
It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child, but a new survey, commissioned by the Fawcett Society and Totaljobs, suggests that it is mothers who are making all the sacrifices.
The survey was made up of 3,000 parents of children under four, and assessed how they felt about juggling childcare with finances, the work-life balance, and their professional ambitions among other things.
While one in five women (19%) considered leaving the workforce temporarily or permanently due to the burden of childcare, only one in ten men felt the same. This means that mothers are twice as likely as men to make this career sacrifice for their children.
As the cost of childcare continues to rise, and the pressure mounts for workers to return to the office, 30% of mothers reported struggling to find flexible work hours while 34% of women also felt their career progress had been hindered by having children.
Fathers experienced these struggles too, but to a lesser extent, with 17% of men reported struggling to find flexible work, and 22% of fathers felt having children had hindered their careers.
With 40% of mothers saying they’d work more if childcare cost was cheaper, the Fawcett Society has urged employers to ‘end the motherhood penalty.’
In a statement, the Fawcett Society’s chief executive Jemima Olchawski said: ‘Government efforts to reduce the cost and increase the accessibility of childcare can’t come soon enough.
‘The UK has some of the highest childcare costs in the world, so it comes as no surprise that this has so much impact on mothers’ participation in the workforce. The UK simply can’t afford to continue to cut corners on what is essential economic infrastructure.’
Jane Lorigan, Totaljob’s chief executive, echoed these sentiments in a statement of her own, adding: ‘There are more mothers in the workplace than ever before, and businesses need to create an environment where they can flourish.
‘With critical labour shortages, the pressures of childcare could ultimately have a longer-term impact on our ever-shrinking workforce.
‘Not only do working parents need more support but we need to ensure this support extends to the people who need it the most.’
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