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The motherhood penalty is still a persistent issue that impacts women’s careers long after they have children. On average, it takes over a decade for a working mother’s career to recover to pre-children levels due to various factors, from limited access to senior roles to the high cost of childcare. In the UK, women hold just 30% of managerial positions and a mere 4% of CEO roles. The career ladder for many women starts to slip before they can reach senior leadership positions.

This webinar will dive into the wider motherhood penalty, exploring the challenges faced by working mums, from financial pressures — like soaring childcare costs — to systemic barriers in the workplace. We’ll discuss how organisations can address these issues, offering practical steps to create more supportive environments and enable career progression for working mothers.

Key Discussion Points

  • What is the motherhood penalty and its broader impact on women’s careers?
  • Why does the motherhood penalty persist? Key statistics include:
    • 5% of women are made redundant while on maternity leave, compared to 0.3% of the rest of the population annually
    • Around 40% of fathers aren’t eligible for Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
    • Rent or nursery? The average salary won’t cover both – the UK has the third highest childcare costs in the world – it’s unsustainable and is forcing women out of work because they simply cannot afford it.
    • The majority (85%) of women leave full-time employment within 3 years of having children and almost one-fifth (19%) exit work entirely.
  • What actions organisations can take to support working mothers and encourage career progression

Speakers

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Clare Keniry
Head of Diversity and Inclusion

Clare Keniry, Board Director and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Morgan Hunt, has over 20 years of recruitment experience across the UK and Australia. She leads the push for a diverse and inclusive culture within the company. Morgan Hunt is dedicated to helping organisations create genuinely diverse workplaces.

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Elizabeth Willetts
Founder and CEO of Investing in Women

Elizabeth Willetts is an award-winning flexible working recruiter, career strategist, and the founder of Investing in Women, the UK’s leading flexible working recruitment company, job board, and community.

With 18 years of recruitment experience — both in-house at Deloitte, one of the Big 4, and at Hays, one of the UK’s largest recruitment agencies — Elizabeth knows the hiring world inside out. But in 2020, after being made redundant, she faced the same challenge as thousands of others: finding a senior, part-time role that fit around her family. When the right job didn’t exist, she built the solution herself. Investing in Women is now a thriving business, helping over 1,000 professionals land flexible jobs and supporting 250+ employers in hiring diverse talent.

She’s also the author of Flex – Your Roadmap to Career Success, a keynote speaker, podcast host, and a passionate advocate for closing the gender pay gap through flexible work.

Originally from Huddersfield, Elizabeth now lives in the UK with her husband, Henry, their two daughters, Emily and Annabelle, and their Labradoodle, Dougal. She believes no one should have to choose between a fulfilling career and family life—because work should fit around life, not the other way around.

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Dr Emma Harvey
Co-founder of Five Hour Club

Dr Emma Harvey is a data business analyst, scientist, educator, and co-founder of Five Hour Club, a pioneering initiative reimagining the 9-5 workday to help parents maintain their careers without sacrificing family life.

Passionate about tackling the motherhood penalty, gender pay gap, and the loss of women — especially in STEM — Emma is on a mission to drive real change in the workplace. Through Five Hour Club, she works with forward-thinking employers to implement Five Hour Workdays, unlocking a highly skilled, often-overlooked talent pool.

Beyond her work in the future of work and DEI, Emma is a podcast host and a proud mum to two young boys. She believes that flexibility isn’t just good for parents—it’s good for business, diversity, and the economy.

Listen to the Five Hour Podcast on Apple and Spotify — where real parents share how they navigate life between school runs.

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Watch the full recording below