Words: Pregnant Then Screwed/Adapted by Jenna Farmer
Pregnant Then Screwed a charity working to end motherhood discrimination has released new figures from a landmark 19,950 sample survey of pregnant women and mums to unveil the lasting impact a lack of childcare during the coronavirus pandemic has had on women’s careers in particular. And, as expected, it’s pretty damming…
The data has revealed that a shocking 46% of employed mothers that have been made redundant or expect to be made redundant in the near future have said that a lack of childcare provision played a role in their redundancy. A huge 72% of mothers have had to work fewer hours because of childcare issues, and 65% of mothers who have been furloughed say a lack of childcare was the reason.
Of the employed mothers Pregnant Then Screwed surveyed, 81% of them said they need childcare to be able to work, but at the moment 51% do not have the necessary childcare in place to enable them to do their job.
I’ve lost all childcare help from family as they’re still shielding. I work and also freelance, my employer doesn’t expect me now to have any issues with childcare as it’s the summer holidays and the same as every other year, except it’s not. I can’t afford £65 per day per child for my childminder; so I’m working a lot when they’re around, they’re not really getting a summer holiday and mostly being ignored. As a result, I’ve had to basically give up on my freelance work just to get my contractual work done around the kids. I’m a single parent and since COVID hit my income has halved,” explains Yasmine Camilla (@yasminecamilla on Instagram), a project manager and freelance influencer.
Joeli Brearley, CEO, and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed explains, ‘51% of mothers simply do not have the childcare in place to be able to return to work. This lack of childcare is destroying women’s careers, they are being made redundant, they are being forced to cut their hours, and they are being treated negatively all because they are picking up the unpaid labour required to keep the country going.’
The risks and treatment of pregnant women
A return to the workplace isn’t only going to impact mothers without childcare, but also pregnant women and mothers with at-risk conditions who may be vulnerable and are at risk of infection if they come into contact with other people in the workplace.
Although pregnant women are considered an at-risk group, vulnerable research has shown that an astonishing 45% of pregnant workers that are working outside of the home currently have not had an individual risk assessment conducted, increasing to 52% for BAME pregnant women.
Joeli Brearley, CEO and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed explains, ”Your employer must provide pregnant women with a detailed risk assessment to show how they will keep you safe. The risk assessment should demonstrate that you are able to socially distance including on your commute.
If they can’t do this then they must allow you to work from home and where that’s not possible they should suspend you on full pay. Not furlough, not sick pay, not enforced early maternity leave. The reality is that 46% of women who have been suspended from work because of their pregnancy have been suspended on incorrect terms, including 33% on furlough, and another 13% on sick pay or told to take holiday or to start maternity pay. “
11% of women on maternity leave are expecting redundancy
For those on maternity leave, enhanced protections do not seem to be going far enough, with 11% of women on maternity leave being made redundant or expecting to be with 27% of these women disabled.
“I was on maternity leave when the pandemic hit and the two remaining clients I was working with had to cancel my services entirely. I’m having to completely start from scratch which is taking up my concentration for every minute of the day – not easy when you’ve got two kids at home and I have really struggled with stress and overwhelm during lockdown. Thankfully, my other half has kept his income, but I feel like I’m totally stuck and I seriously worry for the women who no longer qualify for this. How are we supposed to find work? How are we supposed to do the work?” adds mum blogger Amy Downes
How COVID has impacted self-employed mums
Self-employed mothers are being dealt with new lows according to this new data which has revealed that 74% have had their earning potential reduced because of a lack of access to childcare. 44% of self-employed mothers have had to give up their childcare space during COVID, which is up from 33% for employed mothers. For Charlene McNabb, a wedding videographer, it’s even more: “90% of earnings lost or moved to next year (wedding industry). Families still aren’t keen on shoots at home so bookings are slowing down. Local businesses are struggling so cant invest in video. Grandparents obviously not meant to be used,.school clubs all closed to under 6 here so I’m solo parenting and trying to keep my business in front of customers as my husband still works full time from home…”
Some working mums have accepted the fact things won’t be the same and are now looking at setting up an office from home, with their employers backing. That’s great if you have the room, although it doesn’t necessarily help with childcare (how many times have we watched viral videos of children running into their parent’s office during a Zoom meeting!).
Some are going a step further and investing in a future from home by building an outdoor space in the form of a garden office. Whilst these are expensive investments they are ideal for working from home and allow you to separate your work from home whilst still being at home. Some are also using the space as a separate entertaining area whilst public venues are closed, the choices are endless.
“Turn your bare office into a more natural space. Add colour and a feel-good factor. Image courtesy of Garden Rooms.“
“I had to give up my childcare place because the 30 hours free childcare was suspended in Wales and our nursery charged for a lot of lockdown. I don’t know what I’m going to do going forward with childcare because of the risk of ending up paying for months for a provision I’m not using if we lockdown again. Turnover is down significantly, I don’t have time to promote the business… or do any real work.” explains Sian Buck-Evans from Transcribe This.
Joeli Brearley, CEO, and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed comments, ‘Self-employed women have had an unbelievable ride during Covid-19, with women who have taken maternity leave in the last three years seeing their government support cut by a third or even two-thirds if they have had two maternity leaves, compared to dads who are not impacted financially by maternity leave.
On top of this, they are having to give up their childcare spaces at a faster rate than employed mothers, and their earning potential is reducing week after week. It’s an absolute disaster.’
We need the government to open its eyes to the gender imbalance that Covid-19 is exacerbating and we need to help pregnant women and mums to be treated on merit, not on how many kids they have. The time to change this is now.’
-ENDS-
This is shocking but unfortunately not surprising.