One in five women in the UK steps back or drops out of her career after having children.
Zoe Duce, who spent a decade building a fast-paced career in media before becoming a mother, says the problem is not ambition. It is the near-total absence of systems, planning and process around one of the biggest transitions in a woman’s working life.
The scale of the problem should trouble any employer. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of mothers either don’t return to work after maternity leave or leave within a year of coming back, with most citing poor employer processes, a lack of flexibility and difficult reintegration. Previous research suggests the juggling act has driven a quarter of a million women out of their jobs altogether.
The financial toll is equally stark. ONS analysis shows mothers’ monthly earnings fall by an average of 42 per cent within five years of a first child, a motherhood penalty worth more than £65,000 per woman.
Duce planned her own return with enthusiasm, only to be blindsided.
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