The young mother penalty

Women who have children at a younger age suffer a significant pay penalty throughout their careers compared to older mothers, a new TUC analysis published today (March 8) has revealed.

 
The TUC teamed up with the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) on International Women’s Day today to analyse the earnings of a group of 17,000 full-time workers.

 
The analysis found that women who have children before the age of 33 earn 15 per cent less over the course of their careers compared to women who had not had children before 33.

 
The study also found that mothers who work full-time and have their first child after the age of 33 earn 12 per cent more than women who had not had children. This, the study notes, was likely because older mothers tend to be higher earners in more senior roles and more able to afford childcare.

 
Younger mothers are also much more likely to suffer pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work – a shocking 1 in 4 mothers under the age of 25 were treated so badly that they were forced out of their jobs because of pregnancy or maternity leave.

 
“This research shows that millions of mothers still suffer the motherhood pay penalty,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.

 
“We need to do far more to support all working mums, starting by increasing the number of quality part-time jobs and making childcare much more affordable,” she added.

 
“Women in full-time, well-paid jobs shouldn’t be the only ones able to both become parents and see their careers progress. All women worried about their pay and conditions should join a union to get their voices heard and their interests represented.”

Equal pay audits

Unite national officer for equalities Siobhan Endean agreed, adding that a number of goals must be achieved before the gender pay gap is closed and young mothers in particular have a chance at equal pay.

 
“We welcome the TUC analysis which shines a spotlight on the struggles that young mothers face,” she noted. “It is further evidence as to why we need equal pay legislation brought up to date.”

 
“The government recently enacted legislation that will require large businesses to publish information about the gender pay gap among their workforce,” she explained. “While this is a step forward, it goes nowhere near enough in tackling unequal pay.”

 
As UNITElive has previously reported, private employers with more than 250 employees will be required to publish information about their company’s average and median gender pay gap beginning in April 2018. They will also have to report on bonus pay and the number of men and women in each pay range.

 
Endean said that mandatory equal pay audits – which are much more detailed than the pay gap information large employers must start publishing in two years’ time – are absolutely essential in achieving true pay parity between men and women.

 
Pay audits go well beyond a mere data collection exercise. They require employers to closely investigate any pay disparities between men and women – and then they must take action to right these disparities.

 
“Mandatory pay audits should also be accompanied by strict enforcement,” Endean noted. “We worry that the new legislation will be made meaningless by lack of an enforcement regime. For example, if the penalty for failing to publish pay gap information is, say, only a £5,000 fee, businesses may just pay the fee instead of having to comply.”

 
At the moment, the government has said it will not pursue any criminal or civil penalties if companies do not comply, but this policy will be reviewed in five years if there is a low rate of compliance.

 
The final consultation on draft regulations for the new gender pay gap reporting policy will close on Friday (March 11).

 
Endean argued that pay transparency must also apply to temporary and agency work – which is predominantly taken on by women – for the policy to be effective.

 
“If we leave out consideration for these workers and look only at women working full-time, we miss out on a very large swathe of women who are being paid and treated unfairly,” she said.

Free to discriminate

The TUC analysis published today was released alongside a new Fawcett Society survey which demonstrates the gap in perception between mothers and fathers at work.

 
The poll found that when a woman has a baby, 46 per cent of the 8,000 people surveyed believe that the woman will become less committed to her job, compared to only 11 per cent believing a new father will be less committed.

 
Endean noted that pregnancy and maternity discrimination has been further exacerbated after the introduction of employment tribunal fees. The number of employment tribunal cases dropped sharply after the fees were introduced three years ago.

 
“Mothers – especially young mothers who are much more likely to be discriminated against – simply do not have the money to take their discrimination case to a tribunal,” she said. “Employers then feel free to discriminate against these women because they know there likely will be no repercussions.”

 
The Fawcett Society poll also found that fathers took very little time off from work at the birth of their child – 75 per cent of fathers said they took two weeks off or less, with a third of fathers saying they took between one and five days.

 
Endean noted that new shared parental leave policies will likely have some impact, but much more is needed to ensure fathers and mothers both have the opportunity to care for children and advance their careers.

‘Long, hard look’

Senior Tory MP Maria Miller strongly criticised the government’s own policies today (March 8), noting that “at most 8 per cent” of fathers will take shared parental leave after the birth of a child under the new legislation.

 
Miller said that the government’s goal of closing the gender pay gap within a generation would remain out of reach if it did not act.

 
“The government thinks the issue has been resolved, and it has for women working full-time under the age of 35 but not for thousands of others,” Miller said.

 
“The gender pay gap is particularly acute for women over 40 – and that is because of the lack of quality part-time working and lack of effective shared parental-leave policies,” she added. “The evidence is clear. The government needs to take a long, hard look at their policies.”

 
More than anything, Endean said that it was clear collective bargaining structures on both pay and terms and conditions that would most help close the gender pay gap.

 
“On International Women’s Day, nearly 50 years after we first introduced equal pay legislation in the UK, the fact that the gender pay gap still exists is a disgrace,” she said. “While we’ve made many strides, too many women, especially young mothers, are stuck at the very bottom rung of their business in low pay with no way out.

 
“Strong legislation alongside collective bargaining structures in every workplace will be most effective in making a difference.”