60% mums earning under £100k displeased with employer support, finds Mumsnet
Two thirds of working mothers are dissatisfied with family friendly measures in their workplace, with fewer than half (40 per cent) of mothers earning under £100,000 happy with employers.
The results, taken from a survey of 2,000 Mumsnet respondents working in predominantly managerial and senior executive positions across a variety of sectors, have highlighted the growing disparity between the experiences of mothers returning to work.
Nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of working mums in the higher wage bracket (over£100,000) said that they were happy with steps taken by their employers.
Meanwhile, 55 per cent of mothers earning under £100,000 have experienced a drop in wages since returning to the workplace, with nearly half (47 per cent) receiving a substantial reduction of 40 per cent or more.
While some cuts can be attributed to reduced working hours, a quarter (26 per cent) of those whose hours hadn’t changed reported a drop in salary.
Conversely 52 per cent of mothers earning over £100,000 have increased their salaries since returning to paid employment.
The majority in both income groups said they would have returned to work regardless of financial necessity.
Tackling the issue of discrimination against working parents, a significantly higher proportion (56 per cent) of lower earners advocated a "zero tolerance" approach, compared with a third (33 per cent) of high earners.
The survey was conducted in partnership with executive search firm Ridgeway Partners.