It feels like every month a damning new report confirms the bleak reality we are already all too aware of: the current economy has a detrimental impact on working mothers.

However, according to data released by Indeed Flex, two in five UK mums say the cost of childcare is preventing them from returning to the workforce. This view is even more common among women whose children are not yet at school, with 61% saying the prohibitively high cost of childcare stops them from working. 

Following on from a survey that revealed two-thirds of UK women say childcare duties have affected their career progression, a third of working mums also admit to spending more than 30% of their wages on childcare.

Still, in 2023, women are being priced out of work and suffering from a growing gender pay gap as a result of a lack of affordable childcare. The average annual cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two is now a whopping £14,836, with costs having risen by 5.9% in the past year while the availability of places has also dropped.

And while the government announced increased childcare allowance in the recent spring budget, where households where both parents work will be offered 30 hours of free childcare during term time, two in five mums believe that these plans don’t go far enough. 

The data is supported by research from campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, with one in four parents who use formal childcare saying that the cost is now more than 75% of their take-home pay. Of those surveyed, one in four parents who use formal childcare say they had to rely on some form of debt to cover childcare costs.

In response, a Department for Education spokesperson told Stylist: “We recognise the cost pressures that childcare has on parents, which is why we recently announced a transformative package of childcare support. This includes a new 30 free hours entitlement for eligible working parents of children between nine months and their fifth birthday and a series of trailblazers ahead of a national roll out of primary school wraparound care.

“This builds on our existing support which has totalled £20 billion over the past five years. We have provided record levels of financial support for the most vulnerable - £1,200 last year and a further £1,350 in 2023/24. This is on top of an increase in benefits of 10.1% this week, a continuation of the Energy Price Guarantee, and the Household Support Fund, which is helping with essential food and energy costs.”

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