Being a selfemployed working mother: opportunities and challenges
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By Inna Yordanova Research correspondent
ince 2008, the rise in self-employment has been driven by a 69 per cent increase in the number of female freelancers working in the most highly skilled occupations and choosing this way of work because of the freedom, flexibility and control it provides. The number of freelance working mothers has also increased by 79 per cent since 2008. Freelancing allows mothers to pursue their career and spend time with their family in a way that simply was not possible half a century ago. It seems that the vast majority of these women entered self-employment for overwhelmingly positive reasons. Among the most significant are greater control over working hours (63% of women said this was a factor), choice of where to work (56%) and better work-life balance (55%) – all features that could be particularly appealing to new mothers. In line with these findings, IPSE’s new report, Women in Self-Employment: Understanding the Female Self-Employed Community, found that becoming a mother is more likely to trigger the move into self-employment than becoming a father.
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However, it also showed that self-employment doesn’t come without its challenges, and that is no different for self-employed working mothers.
In fact, IPSE’s research found that only a third (33%) of self-employed women have claimed Maternity Allowance for the full 39 weeks it is available to them, while another third (30%) have KEY CHALLENGES SELF-EMPLOYED not claimed their Maternity Allowance at all. MOTHERS FACE The data also showed that another key Some of the greatest challenges for self- reason self-employed women do not feel able to employed mothers are parental leave and pay. take all their maternity leave is that they fear the Previous IPSE research revealed damage it could do to their that existing parental leave policies businesses. only a third do not reflect the needs of the selfIn fact, 42 per cent (33%) of selfemployed, who are currently not eligible of self-employed mothers for Maternity or Paternity pay – or employed women took six months or less of Shared Parental Leave (SPL)1. have claimed maternity leave and eight Self-employed mothers can Maternity per cent took no time at all, only claim Maternity with many returning to work Allowance for Allowance which entitles early for career or financial the full 39 them to £148.68 per week reasons. A quarter (25%) weeks or 90 per cent of their also say they need more than average weekly earnings the statutory ten Keeping In – whichever is less. Touch (KIT) days allowed by The low value of the Department for Work the Maternity Allowance and Pensions to maintain combined with the 43 per cent gender their business.2 pay gap found in self-employment can help These struggles were also highlighted by explain why many self-employed mothers don’t Kathryn Dooney, a self-employed mother and take enough maternity leave to bond with their freelance social media manager, who was quoted children but choose to continue to work instead. in the report: “It largely comes down to purely modern work
