Million more mums join the workforce
MORE than a million mothers have joined the workforce in the past 20 years, official figures show.
There are now 4.9 million women in England juggling work with raising a family – almost three quarters (74 per cent) of all mothers.
This is 1.2 million higher than in 1996, when the number of women with dependent children heading off to the office stood at 3.7 million (61.9 per cent).
The Office for National Statistics findings suggest the once traditional idea of a family with a working father and stay-at-home mother has all but disappeared.
The latest Families and Labour Market figures have shown that since 2010, more parents have worked than people who have no dependent children.
From April to June 2018, almost three-quarters (72.5 per cent) of families with “couple parents” had both in employment – almost half (45.5 per cent) working full time.
But mothers have accounted for the largest increase in employment rates over the last 20 years.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s good that more mums are in work. But let’s not pretend that everything is rosy.
“Women still suffer a big motherhood pay penalty. And many are not given the support they need from employers to fit work around caring responsibilities.” Encouraging women with young children back into the jobs market has been a priority for Labour and Conservative governments.
The latest initiative offers 30 hours of free childcare for eligible working families.
This Government has also promoted the launch of “returnships” – schemes to encourage mothers who have taken time out of the workplace to return.
The scheme has resulted in a stepchange in the employment rate for working mothers.
Mandy Garner of recruitment website Workingmums said: “With the number of working mums rising, there are more time pressures on families, meaning flexible working is now one of the top priorities for both mums and dads.
“A growing number of employers understand these pressures and are promoting more flexible ways of working and other forms of support for parents, such as parent employee networks and enhanced parental leave, but we know there is still a lot of discrimination and bad practice.
“In the long term, employers who fail to address these issues are going to find it harder to attract and retain experienced workers.”
The South-west had the highest percentage of mothers in work (79.7 per cent), while London had the lowest (65.8 per cent).
Lower rates of employment were typically seen for mothers with a youngest dependent child of four and under, with rates rising as the child grew older.
Overall, employment rates for fathers appeared to be relatively unaffected by the age of their youngest dependent child.
The figures, looking at men and women in England aged 16 to 64, were estimates based on two studies, the Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population Survey.