The Motherhood Penalty

Question: What do a father's mental health, a mother's full-time employment, and their newborn child's lifetime earnings have in common? 

Answer: They would all be improved by an effective Equal Paid Parental Leave policy, according to PwC's 2023 Women in Work report.

In the latest episode of The Future of the Firm, a podcast by Source asking the big questions about what really matters in professional services, Jennifer Richards, Chief Strategy Officer, at PwC UK, joined Ed Scott to discuss shifting attitudes to parental leave, and the opportunity for firms to demonstrate genuine leadership in this space.

As discussed in the podcast, the gender pay gap continues to be such that an 18-year-old entering the workforce today is unlikely to see pay equality in their lifetime. Ed and Jennifer speak about the impact improved parental leave can have with regards to mental health, wellbeing, and postpartum depression. There are also some interesting economic benefits, including, in the UK specifically, estimated improvements in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) grades as a result of getting fathers and mothers involved in a child's early years, resulting in a sizable average increase in lifetime earnings.

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Click here to listen to the podcast