THE CAREERS AFTER BABIES REPORT
The Careers After Babies paper has landed. These landmark findings have attracted attention from some of the biggest brands in the UK and have led to the Careers AFter Babies accreditation, the first wave launching today!
Most businesses are not holding on to talented and skilled women after they have children. The results showed that 85% of mothers leave the full-time workforce within 3 years of having their first child. 19% leave the workforce altogether.
In 2020, 300,000 new babies were born in the UK and 44% of these were first-time babies. That means, every year, we lose at least 25,080 mums from the workforce. Every year we lose 313,500 years of experience. And that’s just with the first child. The number is likely to be much higher.
This report set out to discover the truth behind those numbers and understand what's happening to women's careers.
Sadly, the findings are not surprising. Work-life balance and career loss are discussed at every play group, in every playground and at every kitchen table in the UK. Mums across the country are deeply frustrated not to be able to work in a way that enables them to be a parent and have a career.
The gulf between what women need and what businesses are offering is vast. The business case is clear. There is a lack of women in leadership positions - just 4% of FTSE250 CEO’s are women; just 1p in every £1 of capital investment is going to female founders; there is missed opportunity of a 10% increase in GDP for the UK economy; and a 14.9% gender pay gap that diverges significantly from the age of 30.
The cause of all of these issues is women not remaining in work or taking lesser-skilled, and therefore lesser-paid roles when they have a family.
We are working to an outdated model. Work has not kept up with society. Too few women are happy with their work-life balance and they are not earning enough. They need flexibility. They need to be respected, whether part-time in the office or full-time from home. Their contribution needs to be valued as much after having children as it was before.
The war for equality rages on and it needs support from both men and women. This fight begins with maternity leave and ends with equal access to career development opportunities. Fundamentally though, it requires businesses to commit to changing their culture to suit everyone, not just a few, recognising the value that creates.
There is lots of practical advice throughout this report in recognition of the changes that businesses must make. The changes aren't always easy, but they must happen.
If you want to know more, download the full report. If you would like us to come and talk about the findings at an event then get in touch. And if you're an employer who scoffs at all this, then sign up to become an accredited Careers After Babies accredited employer.
