Alongside this release we have published datasets that contain additional estimates, which support those presented in this article.

The Working Mother Research Institute conducted a survey in 2015 of working mothers asking how they felt. They found some unsurprising findings – that mothers that make less money are less satisfied for example. They also found that mothers tend to de-prioritise self-care when there are high levels of stress between work and home life. The biggest single contributing factor to satisfaction for working mothers was flexible working. Despite these realities, the truth is that many mothers worry about the impact of their employment on their children. They are concerned that they might miss out on important developmental milestones or feel guilty that they are “putting work ahead of family”. In 1984, 49% agreed with the statement: “A man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home and family”. In 2017, just 8% of respondents agreed.

Listen to our podcast on this topic:

Respondents in this release are classified as parents if they have dependent children living with them in the same household. This may also include children who are being cared for by someone other than their birth mother or father (for example, guardians or foster parents). This analysis does not include parents whose children do not live with them, or parents whose children usually reside elsewhere (for example, with a former partner).

You can calculate your adoption leave and payon GOV.UK, or get more information about adoption leave. Time off to look after your child You’ll need to have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week where you get official notification. Overall, 67.2% of mothers and 24.3% of fathers who were not in work stated that they were economically inactive because they were looking after the family or home.Around 3 in 10 mothers (28.9%) and fathers (30.9%) reported facing some sort of obstacle in fulfilling childcare responsibilities within their work life. As might be expected, this proportion of parents reporting obstacles decreased as the age of the child increased, from 34.9% of parents whose youngest child was aged between 0 and 4 years to 20.4% of parents with a child aged 11 to 14 years.

When the youngest dependent child was aged three to four years, almost six in ten mothers (58.2%) worked less than 30 hours a week. For mothers who had a youngest dependent child aged over three years, the proportion working less than 30 hours decreased as the age of the youngest dependent child increased. The proportion of mothers with a youngest child aged zero to two years who were working over 30 hours a week is likely to be influenced by mothers on maternity leave being classified as in employment, rather than being a true reflection of mothers' usual working hours. Your employer cannot dismiss you or treat you less favourably because you are a pregnant worker or new mother. If they do it may amount to unlawful discrimination. Informing your employerAs you can see, there are a multitude of options for moms who want to have a career they can be proud of while still spending time at home with their kids. You’ll need to give your employer notice that you want to take paternity leave. You should do this by 15 weeks before your baby’s due date, or within 7 days of being matched with a child for adoption. They must then carry out a more specific individual risk assessment when you tell them you are pregnant, given birth in the last 6 months or breastfeeding. Actions your employer should take to protect you Respondents in this article are classified as parents if they have dependent children living with them in the same household. This analysis does not include parents whose children do not live with them, or parents whose children usually reside elsewhere (for example, with a former partner).

Your employer should already have assessed any potential risks to women of a childbearing age as part of their general risk assessment process. You can change when you want to take paternity leave - just give your employer 28 days' notice of the changed date. More information about paternity leave Over half of mothers (56.2%) said they had made a change to their employment for childcare reasons, compared with 22.4% of fathers. The proportion of parents making a change to employment for childcare reasons decreased as the age of the youngest child increased, ranging from 43.8 % of parents of 0- to 4-year-olds to 24.9% of parents of 11- to 14-year-olds. you can’t be taking adoption leave - if you and your partner are adopting, one of you can take adoption leave and the other paternity leave have had the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date, or by the time you’re matched with a child for adoptionWhen you’re a new parent or you’re expecting a baby you have extra rights at work. You or your partner could be entitled to: If you have a degree and training in technical support, repair, installation, networking, software debugging, and other IT-related disciplines, you are in a great position to work remotely and get compensated well. Many companies rely on remote technician support via the telephone or online, and this is one of the highest paying work from home jobs out there. In 2019, three-quarters of mothers with dependent children were in work, up from two-thirds of mothers at the start of the century. In comparison, over 9 in 10 fathers were working.