Research commissioned by the Association of Accounting Technicians
suggests that women who leave their chosen profession to have a baby
face a pay cut of up to £20,000 a year when they return to work.
The study of more than 2,000 women who have chosen or “been forced by
time or financial constraints” to abandon their chosen career after
giving birth found that 60% of respondents earn less now than they did
before they went on maternity leave.
Some 70% are over-qualified for the jobs they now do and such
positions would have been “below them” before giving birth. The average
working mum earns £9,419 less a year when compared to previous income,
while necessity has forced nearly a quarter of respondents to take any job to make ends meet.
A third said the difference in salary has “affected their life
negatively” and one in seven admitted that it had affected their
marriage. Four in ten do their current job because it “fits in with
family commitments and brings in extra money”; with just 16% saying they
are passionate about their profession; and 30% describing their current
job as “menial”. While working hours were reduced to enable mums to
balance parenting responsibilities, only 20% of respondents said their
current job was less stressful.
Respondents’ average age for having their first child was 25 and 38%
thought their employer wasn’t supportive enough throughout their
pregnancy. Flexibility around school hours, job location and low stress
levels were found to be the biggest priorities for working mums, with
salary fourth on the list.
Many of us would like to believe that starting a business offers women a better alternative, yet it seems that many women are not planning to start their own business any time soon.
As reported by the FT in August,
according to an Ernst & Young survey, just 16% of the 1,000 working
women questioned wanted to start their own business, while the “Global Entrepreneurship Monitor UK Report 2011,
which surveyed more than 10,000 people in the UK, noted ‘that men tend
to have more positive entrepreneurial attitudes than women’ and even
that women were more risk-adverse when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Whether that is true or not, are there any other reasons why more
women – particularly young mums – don’t start their own business?
Leaving aside all of the common reasons why both sexes don’t start their
own business, lack of access to finance is often stated as a hurdle
more likely to affect more women more men. Childcare is another huge
issue, of course.
And however much we like to believe otherwise, balancing the demands
of running a business with family commitments remains a massive
challenge. The dream of being able to really have it all remains just that for many women – a dream.
As journalist, author and mumpreneur expert Antonia Chitty
admits: “Almost all mumpreneurs are doing it so they can spend more
time with their family, and it’s always a bit of a struggle to find the
right balance. It’s hard to find enough time for your business, your
family, your partner and yourself.”
Perhaps none of us should be surprised that many mums compromise by
earning less and doing jobs they don’t want to do or hate, rather than
start their own business.
- We’d like to read your thoughts – why don’t more women start their own business?
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