Government and businesses must prioritize ending the “motherhood gap”, experts have urged, as new surveys suggest more than a quarter of working mothers believe their career progress slowed after taking the parental leave.
The research, commissioned by the Fawcett Society, highlights large disparities between mothers and fathers in their perception of how parental leave has impacted them in the workplace.
About 27 percent of working mothers said their career progress had slowed as a result, compared with 21 percent of working fathers, according to Opinium's survey of 3,000 working parents with at least one child under four. .
While surveyors found that an overwhelming majority of parents (78 percent) faced difficulties returning to work, this was the case for 84 percent of mothers compared to 74 percent of fathers.
“The Fawcett Society believes in workplaces that support all women returning to work by providing appropriate steps to ensure equal opportunities are offered while their flexible needs are met,” said the equality charity's chief executive. , Jemima Olchawski.
“We call on businesses and government to prioritize ending the maternity penalty by adequately supporting returning mothers to balance their work and caring responsibilities.”
Top concerns among respondents included feeling guilty or anxious about leaving their child with child care (45 percent), balancing work and child care responsibilities (39 percent), and the affordability of child care (35 percent). ).
More than four in 10 women said they felt isolated and disconnected from their colleagues when returning from parental leave, a figure which rises to 60 per cent among single mothers. This compares to only 28 percent of working parents.
The Fawcett Society urged companies to prioritize closing the 'motherhood gap'
(Getty Images)
Nearly a third of mothers reported having no support during the transition back to work, a figure that rises to 42 percent for those who took between 26 and 52 weeks of maternity leave. Only 31 per cent have access to flexible working arrangements, even though this tops the list of support they would find most useful.
Many mothers also reported encountering unhelpful perceptions and adjustments from their employers and colleagues upon their return. 18 percent said they had been made to feel like they weren't working hard enough and 15 percent felt excluded from work social events, compared to 12 and 10 percent of parents, respectively.
More than a third of women surveyed said they had lost confidence in their abilities and skills after returning to work; almost half of whom said this was because the act of balancing work and parenting commitments undermined their confidence.
However, 44 percent of mothers surveyed also said they felt more ambitious about returning to work.
Jane Lorigan, chief executive of Totaljobs, which jointly commissioned the research, said: “Working mothers are an invaluable part of our workforce and economy, and should be celebrated and supported, not marginalized or excluded.
“We urge employers to take this issue seriously and implement policies and practices that foster a culture of inclusion, respect and flexibility for working mothers and all employees. This will not only benefit individuals, but also organizations and society as a whole.”
