Nadiya, a modern languages teacher from London, had just been offered a promotion when she found out she was pregnant. Having been at her school for nearly two years, she was eager for professional progress. She'd also always wanted children. But when she got a positive pregnancy result, her heart sank a little at the timing. These two exciting developments in her life suddenly felt incompatible. Something had to give, and she knew it would be her career.
"My school doesn't offer part-time roles at all," she says. "Every woman who's had a baby has ended up leaving after maternity leave for a school that's more flexible. I feel upset and disappointed that I'll have to do the same."
On paper, teaching is a job that should be well-matched to starting a family. There are the long summer holidays. The fixed hours. Knowing how to deal with your future children's maths homework. But it's not quite as straightforward. According to employment agency Reed, the average teacher salary is £31,000 a year. With the cost of childcare skyrocketing in line with inflation, a full-time nursery place can now set you back upwards of £1,000 a month more than many households spend on their rent or mortgage. Clearly, this is simply not feasible for many, and it's often the careers of women that pay the price.
Across sectors, women with children are facing a crisis when it comes to balancing work with the ever-rising cost of childcare. We are being pushed out of the workforce, our choice to return to work stripped from us by economic factors out of our control. For the first time in modern history, the number of women not returning to work after having a baby has risen - as much as 13 per cent in the last year alone among women aged 25 to 34.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 07, 2022 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 07, 2022 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Salah's touchline tantrum hints at deeper Reds split
In a sense, Mohamed Salah's season has come full circle. It started with a display of dissent amid a substitution in London, the Egyptian contriving to rip a rather small bandage into an absurdly high number of pieces when taken off at Chelsea.
Arsenal's derby grit bodes well for draining title race
It was a joke that Mikel Arteta probably wouldn’t have made had this game gone a different way.
Delivery firm Getir to quit UK with 1,500 jobs at risk
Grocery delivery firm Getir is to leave the UK, Europe and the US to focus solely on its home market in Turkey, bringing an end to its rapid expansion across the regions since the pandemic.
Way to go, Michelangelo
'The last decades', a new British Museum exhibition, strives to make the artist's work immersive from the powerful works to the much more saccharine pieces, writes Mark Hudson
No, Jerry, the left and 'PC crap' aren't killing comedy
Seinfeld's rant is ludicrous and ignores the fact the industry has policed itself when it goes too far, writes Adam White
'People say we're destroying football - I think it's absurd'
Humphrey Ker, actor, writer and affable executive director of Wrexham speaks to Jessie Thompson about stress, top-flight ambitions and not being part of the fairytale for much longer
Are airlines getting tighter with their luggage rules?
Q I fly frequently, using different UK airports and airlines. In the past few weeks I have lost count of the number of occasions when angry/upset passengers are told at the departure gate they must pay £40 or £50 for an oversized cabin bag.
Like Clarkson, I decided to reinvent myself in midlife
Ten years ago, Grant Feller watched his salary plummet to less than his teen daughter's nannying job. With no income and no clients, here's how he went from panic to six figures
HANDLE WITH CARE
Oscar winner Emma Stone has expressed a preference for 'Emily' rather than the acting moniker she was forced to adopt early on. Helen Coffey ponders the power of names
Trump and DeSantis 'make peace' after primary feud
Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have met privately for the first time since their bruising battle in the Republican presidential primaries.