"Motherhood Penalty" Forces Parents to Pay More for Childcare Than Housing

Charity group Pregnant Then Screwed conducted a landmark survey of 27,000 parents of young children to determine the actual cost of the motherhood penalty, and the results they uncovered were highly discouraging. According to the survey, almost two-thirds of families pay the same or even more for childcare as they do their mortgage or rent.

This number rises even further to 73 percent for parents who work full time and 73 percent for single parents, clearly demonstrating that high childcare costs are a key reason why women are being pushed to take part-time work that gives lower pay.

According to IWA, studies have shown that women's wages fall when they have their first child, a downward trend after each kid she has. TUC estimates that full-time working fathers earn 20 percent more than childless men, while wages of full-time working mothers drop by an average of 11 percent compared to colleagues who have no children.

What is the motherhood penalty?

Sociologists coined the term "motherhood penalty" to describe the disadvantages women face in the workplace when they do have children. Women are penalized for having kids because they must take time out from work once they give birth and then find out that childcare is too expensive when or if they return to the workplace.

Joeli Brearley, the founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, told i news that she finds the motherhood penalty situation "disturbing" for most U.K. families. Brearley said that this is not sustainable, and the lack of affordable housing is an issue that comes up time and time again and is clearly impacting families all over the U.K.

The high cost of childcare and the huge cost of housing have long been headed for a collision course, particularly for families and single mothers who just rent their homes as opposed to those who have their own property. The combined costs of childcare and housing are putting added pressure on the finances of households, who already face rising grocery and energy bills.

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Rising costs of childcare and housing put major strain on finances

According to the latest data from HomeLet, rents have risen during the pandemic, even reaching record-high rates in many parts of the United Kingdom. Recent figures showed the average U.K. rent rising to £1,069 a month in February of this year, a massive 8.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year when it was just £984.

To make matters worse for families and single parents, childcare costs have also risen by 4 percent, according to data provided by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) to the Daily Mirror. These price hikes in childcare and housing are providing major problems to families with young children trying to make ends meet with their wages. The crisis shows no sign of stopping, with both childcare and rents getting more expensive.

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