More mothers than ever are the main family earner

Maternal breadwinning is the highest since records began, with over two million working mums now the main family earner, a rise of 80% in the last 15 years, according to a new report by the think tank IPPR.

‘Breadwinning’ is defined in the report as working mothers earning as much as or more than their partner and single mums.

The report shows that maternal breadwinning has increased for all family types, for all age groups and across all income groups, over the last 15 years:

• mothers in couples breadwinning has increased from 18% to 31%,
• co-habiting mothers breadwinning has doubled,
• the employment rate of lone mothers has increased from 43% to 58%,
• maternal breadwinning among 16-26 year-olds has increased from 11% to 18%,
• more than a third of mothers with a degree-level qualification are breadwinning, an increase from 29%, and
• a quarter of mothers without degrees are now breadwinning, compared to less than 20%.

Dalia Ben-Galim, IPPR Associate Director, said:

"Despite more mothers than ever before now being the primary breadwinner for their families, many mums still face significant barriers to entering and remaining in work. These include a lack of flexible work opportunities, the high cost of childcare and parental leave entitlement focused on mothers.

“Whilst these challenges also affect working dads, they have a disproportionate effect on working mums, who are often still primary carers. Together with the gender pay gap, and in particular the motherhood pay penalty that takes hold when women have children, these barriers undermine the livelihood of many families.”