BAME mothers face penalty

Black and ethnic minority mothers are facing an additional “pay gap penalty” and career barriers compared to White working mothers according to the Fawcett Society.

A new report from the women’s rights group, The Ethnicity Motherhood Pay Penalty, shows that mothers from all ethnicities earn an average of 45% less than women without children, but that mothers from some BAME groups face “compounded disadvantages” in hourly pay, hours worked, career progression and retirement funds.

“Minoritised mothers face the compounded barriers of the ethnicity pay gap, gender pay gap and motherhood pay gap,” said report author Julie Rose. “It’s all stacked on top of each other.”

The report found that, between 2019 and 2020, mothers of Chinese and Indian heritage were paid an average of £22.50 and £18.20 per hour respectively, while mothers of Black Caribbean and White heritage received £15.30 and £15.10 per hour, while mothers of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African heritage had the lowest hourly pay, at £13.20 and £12.40.