The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today published new analysis showing the impact of motherhood on women’s employment and earnings, and the findings are stark.

The study, which uses anonymised NHS, HMRC and census data from 2014 to 2022, reveals how mothers face a dramatic and lasting loss in earnings after having children. The analysis is part of a UK Government programme investigating the effect of health and life events on employment and income.

Key findings 

• Five years after the birth of a first child, mothers’ monthly earnings are on average 42% lower (£1,051 per month) than in the year before birth.
• Across five years, mothers lose:
  • £65,618 after their first child
  • an additional £26,317 after their second
  • an additional £32,456 after their third
• The likelihood of paid employment also falls significantly after childbirth, dropping by as much as 15 percentage points after a first child, and 10.5 percentage points after a second or third child.
• Even when mothers remain in employment, their earnings stay substantially lower for at least five years.

Vaila McClure, Head of External Affairs at Gingerbread, the charity for single-parent families, said:

“This is a prime example of how the world of work doesn’t work for mums – and particularly single mums. 90% of single parents are women and the majority are working. This lost income is likely to be a key driver of the poverty that hits 43% of children in single parent households.

At Gingerbread we regularly hear from single mums telling us they simply can’t find jobs that are both flexible and match their level of education and skill. This means too many women are forced to take lower paid roles that offer flexibility and allow them to care for their children. For some, this juggle is impossible and they end up pushed out of the labour market completely, this is particularly likely when their children are young.

There is no doubt we need to see a dramatic improvement in the availability and affordability of childcare but this must be coupled with genuinely flexible work in all roles. We need to see a cultural shift where flexible work is the default.

Single parents are valuable to our economy and allowing women to access jobs that fit their skills and experience can only be good for our economy and the UK’s two million single parent households.”

Read the full ONS release: The impact of motherhood on monthly employee earnings and employment status, England: April 2014 to December 2022

For media enquiries, please contact: media@gingerbread.org.uk

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Notes for editors 

• Gingerbread is the leading charity supporting single parent families in England and Wales. We provide information, practical support and campaign to improve the lives of single parents. For more information, visit www.gingerbread.org.uk.
• This release uses data from between 2014 and 2022. The effects estimated may not reflect more recent births, as the policy and economic context has since changed.
• The datasets used for this analysis are fully anonymised and cannot be traced back to individuals.