AT Home with Lorraine Kelly - June 2011 - (Page 463)
Women in the workplace // CAREERS //
Lorraine says…
‘Women who have kids and then want to go back to work need more help with childcare. The government is trying to make this easier but there’s a long way to go. There are pockets of enlightenment but all employers need to make a commitment to providing crèches and to making it easier for working mothers to do their jobs.’
WORDS: KIA HANSEN | PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES
Mum’s the word
Motherhood plays a crucial role in women’s wages. A 2009 study by the Fawcett Society found that women with children earn about 22% less than their male colleagues. Many face the decision of continuing their careers, swapping ‘traditional’ homemaker roles with their partner, or stepping o the career ladder and taking a salary cut so they can care for their children. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber says: ‘Women have outperformed men in education for a number of years yet many still end up in low-paid, part-time work once they become mothers. Millions of highly skilled women are being forced to sacri ce decent wages and their careers to combine work and family life. Enabling parents to better balance their childcare responsibilities while continuing in jobs that use and develop their skills would give the UK a productivity boost.’ Considering women are excellent multi-taskers, it’s high time UK plc realised their skills need to be better used in the workplace and not just at home.
'Women outperform men in education, yet many end up in low-paid work once they become mums'
JUNE 2011 ● 17
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AT Home with Lorraine Kelly - June 2011