Three out of four mothers and nine out of 10 fathers at work


Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures on families and the labour market show that, in April to June 2021, three out of four mothers (75.6%) with dependent children were at in work in the UK, the highest level in the equivalent quarter over the last 20 years (up from 66.5% in 2002). 


Over nine in 10 (92.1%) fathers with dependent children were employed, up from 89.6% in 2002.


The employment rate was higher for mothers than either women or men without dependent children and has been since 2017.


Since 2020, in families where both parents are employed, it has become more common for both parents to work full-time, rather than a man working full-time with a partner working part-time.


In April to June 2021, 12.1% of parents reported that they mainly worked from home in their main job; mothers were more likely to report homeworking (13.4%) than fathers (10.7%).


More than half (57.7%) of families with only one child had both parents working full-time, compared with 39.5% of families with three or more children.


In March 2022, employed women with dependent children spent more time on unpaid childcare (an average of 85 minutes per day) and household work (an average of 167 minutes per day) than employed men with dependent children (56 and 102 minutes per day, respectively).


https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2021