The Motherhood Career Impact Calculator
(or: how to financially quantify your missing marbles)
Right. We talk about the mental cost of motherhood all the time the sleeplessness, the invisible labour, the mysterious wet cushion on the sofa, the sticky patch on the kitchen floor. But have you ever tried to calculate what it’s actually cost you in cold, hard cash?
I have. And friends, it’s enough to make me want to invoice society.
According to research from Pregnant Then Screwed, mums in the UK lose around £65,000 in earnings before their child even starts school! That’s before we get into pension gaps, missed promotions, and those “we’ll just put you on part-time for now” conversations that somehow never end.
I built a little tool to help you work it out for yourself - part therapy, part financial horror show. It’s called the Motherhood Career Impact Calculator, and it’s painfully simple (I tired to get very fancy with % VALUES and FORMULAS, but I nearly drove myself insane, so, it’s a little basic, but you get the idea.)
How to use it
Grab the basic calculator here - and make a copy.
Fill in:
How much pay or promotion you think you’ve missed since having kids
The income gaps from maternity leave, part-time work, or redundancy
Pension contributions that never happened
Bonuses or stock options that evaporated like your free time
It’ll spit out a total that’s… well, grim.
But here’s the thing… I am not entirely sure it’s about the exact number.
It’s about naming it.
Because when you name it, you can stop blaming yourself for it. Ateast that has how it has helped me.
Why it matters?
Every mum has her own version of this story.
Some were promised flexibility and handed a demotion instead.
Some were made redundant shortly after maternity leave *ahem*
And yet, we’re told to be grateful for “supportive employers.”
(Like the woman who messaged me saying her mum’s company once made her choose between a demotion or part-time hours - and she lost ten years of pension. Ten. Years.)
So, your turn
If you’ve ever wondered what motherhood has really cost you, try the calculator.
Add up the missed raises, the unpaid overtime, the promotions that went to someone with fewer childcare pick-ups.
Then, if you feel brave enough - share your story.
Tag me @wornoutworkingmum on Instagram/TT
Because every pound tells a piece of the story that shouldn’t still need telling.
And if we shout loud enough, maybe one day the price of motherhood won’t be so high.
PS:
Do not even get me started on childcare costs on top of all this.