‘Pay penalty’ hits mothers who go part-time at work

MOTHERS are being hit by a ‘pay penalty’ if they work in part-time jobs, a study shows.

Because they tend to spend more time in part- time employment, they do not benefit from pay rises associated with more experience, research found.

By the time a first child reaches the age of 20, mothers earn around 30 per cent less on average than similarly educated fathers, said a report funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and published by the Institute for Financial Studies.

Some of the gap is explained by mothers in part-time jobs or taking a break from work altogether, said the report.

The overall gender wage gap has fallen from 28 per cent to 18 per cent since the early 1990s for the less well educated, but has remained at 22 per cent for the highest educated, the study says.

Even before they have children, women earn around 10 per cent less than men, but the gap increases ‘rapidly’ for many after they have children.

Monica Costa Dias of the IFS said: ‘There are many likely reasons for persistent gaps in the wages of men and women, but the fact that working parttime has a long-term depressing effect is an important contributing factor.

‘It is remarkable that periods spent in part-time work lead to virtually no wage progression at all. It should be a priority for governments and others to understand the reasons for this.’

Her colleague Robert Joyce said: ‘It is now the highest-educated women whose wages are the furthest behind their male counterparts, and this is particularly related to the fact that they lose out so badly from working part- time.’ Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society which campaigns for women’s rights, said: ‘As a society we are not doing enough to value women’s talents. That is a blow to our productivity and a huge problem for the economy as a whole.

‘We need to make it possible for part-time work to keep women on the career ladder. Employers should offer all roles, including more senior ones, as flexible working unless there is a good business case not to, and create more senior part-time roles. It is time to change our jobs market to one which helps parents, especially mothers, to get on.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘Action taken by this Government means that we are one of the first countries in the world to require all large employers to publish their gender pay gap and bonus data. This is not an option, it is the law.

‘We are committed to promoting fair and decent work for all and are working with businesses to make flexible working a reality for all employees.’

‘Highest educated are furthest behind’