This Mum Votes Pledge

We are asking all parliamentarians, and those selected to stand in the next election, to pledge their support to ending the motherhood penalty.

Mothers and children are being held back by outdated legislation that reduces their earning potential and ensures they do the majority of the unpaid care work and domestic labour. We know that access to affordable, good quality childcare; ring-fenced properly paid parental leave; and flexible working are critical to unlocking women’s economic empowerment. Ask your MP to sign the pledge to demonstrate their commitment to gender equality.

Email your MP to ask them to sign our pledge

Sign our pledge

I commit to advancing 3 key policies in Parliament:

1) Affordable, good quality childcare

2) Ring-fenced and properly paid parental leave

3) All jobs to be advertised as flexible, unless there is a valid reason not to

Image description: Women marching in the March of the Mummies protest with placards and drums

What do we want?

We believe that motherhood is unfinished business when it comes to gender equality in the UK.

We are calling on MPs, and those standing for election, to pledge their support for our campaigns. If implemented these will transform the way we live and work, thereby ensuring mums can thrive.

Join our pledge

Image description: three animated pregnant women, standing up with their hands on their hips looking serious

What is happening now?

The UK has an appalling record:

-One in nine pregnant women get pushed out of their job for daring to procreate (54,000 women every year)

-We have the most expensive childcare in the Western world as a proportion of our income and the second lowest investment as a proportion of GDP

-Although we have access to 9 months leave, we have the 3rd worst ranking maternity pay in Europe and the least generous paternity leave

-Mothers face a pay penalty of 45% lower earnings in the 6 years after giving birth

The result is a widening gender pay gap and more children living in poverty. Women’s economic empowerment hinges on a system that works for us.

We are therefore calling on all MPs, and those who are standing for election, to pledge their commitment to advancing these 3 campaigns in Parliament:

Image description: illustration of No.10 Downing street entrance with a child kneeling on the front step writing

Affordable, good quality childcare

We have the most expensive childcare in the Western world as a proportion of a mother’s income.

A recent survey by Pregnant Then Screwed and Mumsnet found that two-thirds of households pay more or the same for their rent/ mortgage as they do for childcare, resulting in 1 in 4 mothers of children under the age of 5 years old having to cut back on essentials such as food and heating in order to afford it. This is not only detrimental for children and families, but it is a key contributor to the gender pay gap. Mothers are often forced to take a step back in their career to take on childcare duties and avoid these costs. 82% of mothers believe that childcare costs and availability has had a negative impact on their seniority and earnings at work. And 94% of parents who changed their working patterns after having children say childcare costs were a factor.

With affordable, good quality childcare, more women would be able to return to work after having children, therefore combatting the motherhood penalty, as well as helping those 1 in 4 families move out of poverty.

Image description: Two fathers playing with their baby in a tent, all laughing

Ring-fenced properly paid parental leave for all parents

We have a parental leave system that makes it really difficult for fathers to do their fair share of childcare duties, with a take up of just 3.6% on the Government’s Shared Parental Leave programme in 2019/20. With Statutory Maternity Pay currently equating to just 47% of the National Living Wage, it is no wonder that many fathers choose not to take parental leave, but research by the Fawcett Society in 2020 found that almost 70% of fathers would like longer and better-paid time off.

The Shared Parental Leave programme has been set up in such a way that it is dependent on the mother giving away a portion of her maternity leave to the father or other parent. Other countries have demonstrated that if you ring fence paternity leave and pay it at a decent rate then participation in the programme significantly increases.

We believe that parity in parental leave is a critical component of gender equality. We know that the more parental leave a father takes, the more a woman’s earnings increase, the better children do in the education system, mother’s have better mental and physical health and the more likely the couple are to stay together. We want all parents to be entitled to ring fenced properly paid parental leave at 90% of salary and we want to see the rate of statutory parental leave pay increased to at least the national living wage.

Image description: drawing of pregnant black woman flexing her arm saying

All jobs to be advertised as flexible, unless there is a valid reason not to

Flexible working (part time, flexi hours, home working, compressed hours and job share) is good for the economy, through increasing productivity, staff wellbeing, staff retention and company profits. The problem is there’s a huge disconnect between the 9 out of 10 people who want to work flexibly and the 1 in 10 jobs that are currently advertised as flexible. A 2021 Flex For All survey of 13,000 mothers found that half of working mothers do not get the flexibility they need to effectively manage their personal and professional obligations.

Flexible working could protect our economy for the future; research by McKinsey shows that enabling women to achieve their full potential in the workplace, including through widening flexible working, could add £148 billion to the UK economy by 2030, and when fathers work flexibly and share the childcare, mothers are twice as likely to advance in their careers. Research by Robert Mcalpine and Flex Appeal found that if we increase flexible working by 50% we could add £55 billion back into the economy.

Flexible working should not be seen as a perk for favoured employees but as a normal way to work in the modern world.