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Commenting on research published today (Tuesday) by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which shows how the gender pay gap grows year-on-year after childbirth, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

date: 22 August 2016

embargo: 00.01hrs Tuesday 23 August 2016

Commenting on research published today (Tuesday) by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which shows how the gender pay gap grows year-on-year after childbirth, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It is scandalous that millions of women still suffer a motherhood pay penalty,

“Many are forced to leave better-paid jobs due to the pressure of caring responsibilities and the lack of flexible working.

“Without more well-paid, part-time jobs and affordable childcare, the gender pay gap will take decades to close.

“We need to see a step change in government policy and employer attitudes if we are to fix this problem.”

To address the motherhood pay penalty, the TUC wants:

  • support for more equal parenting roles to stop women being held back at work – shared parental leave is a start but take up is likely to be low due to lack of incentives for fathers to take the leave
  • better paid leave targeted at fathers
  • free childcare from the end of maternity leave to help younger mothers with less seniority and lower pay to stay in work after having children 
  • more better-paid jobs to be available flexibly (job shares, part-time working, compressed hours), to prevent women getting stuck in low-paid, part-time work after having children
  • better enforcement of legislation against discrimination linked to pregnancy and childbirth
  • improved access to justice – new mothers should not have to pay £1,200 to challenge pregnancy discrimination at a tribunal and they should be given longer than 3 months to pursue a tribunal claim.  

NOTES TO EDITORS:

-  All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @The_TUC and follow the TUC press team @tucnews

- Congress 2016 will be held in the Brighton Centre from Sunday 11 September to Wednesday 14 September. Free media passes can be obtained by visiting www.tuc.org.uk/MediaCredentials2016 and completing an online form. Applications must be in by noon on Tuesday 23 August. Any received later than that will be processed in Brighton and will cost £75.
 

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Alex Rossiter  T: 020 7467 1285  M: 07887 572130  E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk
Tim Nichols  T: 020 7467 1388  M: 07808 761844  E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk
Michael Pidgeon  T: 020 7467 1372  M: 07717 531150  E: mpidgeon@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson (Mon to Thurs)  T: 020 7467 1337  M: 07900 910624  E: egibson@tuc.org.uk
 

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