Help us say goodbye to the 'motherhood penalty'
We have all (unfortunately) heard of the gender pay gap - where women get paid less than men for doing exactly the same job.
But have you heard of the ‘motherhood penalty'? It makes up over 80% of the gender pay gap!
The motherhood penalty is the financial impact to a female’s wealth trajectory, purely from being a mother. When women take a break from paid work to have children, many don’t get paid their full salary. Many get either paid a lower amount by their employer or get the minimum amount from the Government - and some even get nothing at all! This also makes it a struggle to keep up retirement contributions too. Of those that return to work, their wages decrease by 4-8%. Plus, studies show earnings do not return to pre-parenthood levels for ten years. Studies have shown that all this can create a ‘penalty’ of up to $800,000 over a mothers life.
In order to achieve gender equality, and ensure women aren’t more likely to end up in financial hardship at retirement, more needs to be done to address this. Studies show a woman’s earnings rise about 7% for every month of paternity leave taken by her partner.
Parental leave policies should ensure there is no ‘penalty’ for having a child. They should encourage employees to have children, irrespective of the parents gender. In Sweden, where equal parental leave has been a reality for more than two decades, both parents are eligible for 240 days of parental leave - Go the Swedes👏
At The Curve, we are all about empowerment. We want to open the conversation about what parental leave policy your workplace offers parents (yes, women AND men) - if any!
Do you get any paid parental leave if you take time out to have a baby? Or get any other benefits? If so, what are they?
Remember that this is totally anonymous, and by filling out your details, you'll be helping to create visibility for others.
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