Families don’t all look the same.
Parenting responsibilities are shared in many different ways, including across
same-sex households and single-parent families. But when work needs to flex
around childcare, school hours, or caring responsibilities, the adjustment
still falls disproportionately on women, particularly mothers.
This isn’t about willingness or ambition. It’s about how work is designed, and
who absorbs the impact when life doesn’t fit neatly around a traditional
working week.
Who actually flexes work
UK data consistently shows that when parents reduce hours or step back from
full-time work, it is far more often women who do so.
According to the Working Families Index, around nine in ten parents who reduce
their working hours after having children are women. This pattern has remained
consistent over time, regardless of household structure.
That single statistic explains much of what follows: slower progression, fewer
women in senior roles, and widening pay and pension gaps.
Why flexibility isn’t neutral
Flexibility is often described as a benefit. In reality, it has long-term
consequences.
ONS data shows women are significantly more likely than men to work part-time,
particularly between the ages of 30 and 50. These are the years when careers
typically accelerate, leadership pipelines form, and pension contributions
compound.
Working fewer hours doesn’t just reduce take-home pay. It reduces exposure to
opportunity, visibility within organisations, and long-term financial security.
Why this keeps happening
This isn’t about individual choice in isolation.
Childcare in the UK is expensive, inconsistent, and rarely designed around
full-time working hours. School days finish early. Wraparound care varies
widely. When something has to give, households often flex the role with lower
pay or perceived flexibility.
Because of existing pay gaps, that role is more likely to be held by a woman.
Flexibility also remains easier to access in junior roles. Senior positions are
still commonly framed as full-time, always-on, and visibility-led. That creates
a ceiling just as careers should be accelerating.
Policy helps, but culture decides
From April 2024, the right to request flexible working became a day-one right
in the UK.
This is an important step. But policy alone doesn’t change outcomes.
Research from Acas shows confidence in requesting flexible working still varies
significantly by role seniority and income level. Those who need flexibility
most often feel least able to ask for it.
The long-term cost
Reduced hours are often seen as a short-term adjustment. In practice, they can
shape an entire career.
Research from the Pensions Policy Institute shows that even a relatively short
break or reduction in pension contributions can reduce retirement income by
tens of thousands of pounds over time.
This is why flexibility is directly linked to the gender pension gap, not just
the gender pay gap.
What better looks like
This isn’t about solving childcare overnight. It’s about designing work more
realistically.
Better outcomes come from:
• roles designed with flexibility built in, including senior roles
• progression paths that don’t penalise reduced hours
• normalising flexibility for all parents, not just mothers
• clear return plans after parental leave
When flexibility is shared, the cost is shared too.
What this means for parents
These aren’t easy decisions, and there is rarely a perfect choice.
But understanding the long-term trade-offs matters. Asking how flexibility
works in practice, how progression is handled, and what support exists when
circumstances change isn’t unreasonable. It’s necessary.
The point
Flexibility exists. But it isn’t neutral.
Until work is designed to flex properly, parents will continue to absorb the
cost — and mothers will continue to carry most of it.
That isn’t about choice. It’s about structure.
And structure can be changed.
03/01/2026
When work needs to flex, it still falls unevenly
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And why parents, especially mothers pay the long-term cost.
