Motherhood 'devastates' women's pay, research finds

Women with children earn about 22% less than their male colleagues, according to a new report that explores the "devastating" impact of motherhood on earnings. "Before becoming parents, men and women are equally likely to be employed, but childbirth marks the start of a great divide, which continues even after children have left home and does lasting damage to women's careers," the report finds.

Around 57% of mothers with children under five are in paid work, compared with 90% of men, according to the research published by the Fawcett Society. Partnered women without dependent children earn 9% less than men on average, but for mothers working full-time who have two children, the pay gap with men in the same situation is 21.6%. "For each year she is absent from the workplace, a mother's future wages will reduce by 5%," says the study, entitled Not Having it All: How Motherhood Reduces Women's Pay and Employment Prospects. Mothers are also much more likely than fathers to adjust their work to fit in with their children's schedules.