Nearly a quarter (22%) of mums think it’s unrealistic to progress in their career with children – almost three times higher than dads (8%) – according to a new survey of working parents, with many struggling to envisage a professional future for themselves. 

The survey of over 700 working parents marks the final stage of a four-year, multi-phase academic research programme, which paints a sobering picture of the career realities facing working parents today.

“It’s incredibly challenging for mums and dads in the UK to manage parenting with a career. Most parents are forced to choose one or the other, which means that there is nearly always a sacrifice – for mums, it’s a career, and for dads, it’s parenting,” says Helen Sachdev, working parent champion and director of WOMBA (Work, Me and the Baby).

“Not only do many mums feel they are unable to progress in their careers with children, but many feel they have no other choice but to leave the workplace altogether – forced out by a lack of support, poor organisational set-up and a legacy of unequal governmental support.”

Working parents make up around one third of the UK’s workforce. “At the point workers become parents, they are often at a critical career stage and represent a high proportion of the future talent pipeline. Our study findings offer critical insight into the changes required not only to retain and attract a huge talent group, but to help working parents thrive,” says Sachdev.

“We urge organisations and policy shapers to apply this understanding to improve the experience of working parents – for the benefit of families, employers and the economy.”

Mums are less able to imagine a professional future

The study showed that dads were consistently more confident and optimistic than mums about their future career prospects. Over two-thirds (69%) of dads said they are very clear about who and what they want to become in the future, compared with just over half (53%) of mums, whilst 66% of dads said they could easily imagine their Future Work Self, compared to just 51% of mums. 

Whilst almost one third (31%) of mums said the commitment to their career has dropped since becoming a parent, only a fifth (20%) of dads felt the same. This uneven playing field suggests many employers do not have equally accessible support for the progression and long-term ambition of all parents.

Mums forced to leave v dads choose to leave

This imbalance is also reflected in why parents leave their organisations. Of the mums who no longer work at the organisation where they took parental leave (16%), 41% quit during their parental leave period. 29% said it was because they felt they had “no other choice” and 17% were made redundant. 

In contrast, only 5% of dads had left the organisation where they took parental leave. Nearly three-quarters (71%) said they left to move onto a better opportunity elsewhere – compared to just 53% of mums who said the same. 

Retention and reputation are at risk

For organisations, the retention gap is costly. Dads are more likely than mums to intend to stay with their employer (68% versus 61%), while 14% of all working parents surveyed said they do not plan to be with their current organisation in two-years’ time. 

Beyond retention, there is also a reputational risk for employers – 12% of parents would not recommend their workplace as a good place to work for working parents.

Employers failing to prepare parents for return to work

Returning to work was widely experienced as the most challenging part of the journey to being a working parent – 68% of mums and 64% of dads reported it as moderately to extremely challenging.  

The data also revealed distinct patterns in how mums and dads experienced the transition into working parenthood. 14% of mums said they were very unsettled or unsettled, compared to just 8% of dads who felt the same, and 69% of mums reported moderate to extreme guilt, versus just 57% of dads.

Mums also experienced lower levels of resilience (62%) and self-esteem (61%) than dads (55% and 51% respectively).

Despite the clear challenges, many organisations are failing to prepare returning parents effectively: more than one third (36%) of parents were not offered KIT (Keep in Touch) days, 43% of parents did not have communication from HR whilst they were on leave, and nearly one third (32%) received no communication from their manager.  

The study also suggests that too many parents are being left to navigate their return to work alone – 43% of dads and 49% of mums were not offered a return to work induction, whilst 52% of dads and 63% of mums were not given a return to work interview.

What do parents need to thrive, not just survive?

When parents were asked about the factors that have most influenced their ability to thrive at work, both mums (88%) and dads (87%) rated financial stability as the most important. 

The other top factors for mums were flexible working hours (85%), being trusted (84%), having a supportive manager (83%) and affordable childcare (84%). For dads, the ability to bring one’s whole self to work (81%), the ability to balance work and parental identity (81%), being trusted (81%) and having a supportive manager (79%), were of high importance.

Though they differed in how they ranked their importance, mums and dads identified the same 13 critical factors as influencing their ability to thrive in the workplace. These form The Thrive Model, developed by WOMBA in partnership with Hult International Business School – a complex and multifaceted system of the organisational and parental factors needed to enable working parents to thrive: 

Organisational system:

1.Flexible working hours

2.Remote/ hybrid options

3.Supportive manager

4.Supportive colleagues

5.Parent-friendly culture

6.Inclusive culture

Parental system: 

7.Financial stability

8.Affordable childcare

9.Supportive family and friends

10.Ability to balance work and personal identity

11.Ability to make choices

12.Opportunity to bring whole self to work

13.Being trusted.

Sachdev says, “The time to act is now, for organisations to future proof their talent pipeline and remain competitive. We believe a systemic approach is required – including public policy reform – for thriving working parents to become the norm. Parents also have an opportunity to influence employers through their individual and community-led actions.”

Dr. Lee Waller, Professor of Occupational Psychology, Hult International Business School, says, “If organisations themselves are to thrive, they need to attract and retain diverse talent – people who think creatively, manage competing priorities, and collaborate through empathy. No group is better equipped with these skills than working parents.”

*Survey Conducted by WOMBA (Work, Me and the Baby) in partnership with Hult International Business School