High cost of childcare reason why 75% of stay-at-home mothers do not work

The high cost of childcare is the reason why three quarters of stay-at-home mothers do not work outside the home or have part-time jobs.

It means women are ending up with much smaller pensions than men and even suffer a “motherhood penalty” receiving smaller pensions the more children they have had.

While the cost of childcare has fallen as creches cut fees and mothers turn to family members, formal care is high by EU standards generally. Just before the crash in 2008 it cost more than 40% of the income after tax of a working couple.