Two-thirds of working mothers in Ireland claim promotions have been blocked

Almost two-thirds of working mothers in Ireland claim that their promotions at work have been blocked, as working mothers are four times more likely to not get a pay rise they have negotiated for compared with working fathers.

A survey of 2,000 professionals by recruitment firm Robert Walters has found that 56 per cent of working mothers are yet to receive a promotion from their current employer, despite the fact they felt they had earned it – a 14 per cent difference compared with working fathers.

More than a quarter of working mothers (27 per cent) said they aren’t aware of their route to a promotion, 10 per cent more than their male counterparts, and 18 per cent said they could do with more support from management to understand how to get a promotion.

The survey highlighted a lack of support for working mothers in the workplace, as 36 per cent said that balancing work with personal commitments is a key roadblock to work, and a fifth reported experiencing active discrimination against their personal circumstance in the office.

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Coral Bamgboye, head of diversity and inclusion at Robert Walters, said working mothers “are also finding it significantly harder to reach the higher echelons of pay, which still seem to be dominated by men”.

The survey found that just under a quarter of working mothers in white-collar roles earn more than €49,000, compared with 53 per cent of working fathers who earn this or above.

Further up the pay bracket, just 6 per cent of working mothers earn more than €87,500, versus 21 per cent of working fathers who take home this level of pay.

Some 19 per cent of single working mothers reported that they haven’t received a pay rise after negotiation, compared with just 5 per cent of single fathers who said the same.

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Just 10 per cent of single mothers in white-collar jobs say they can “live comfortably” on their salary, while a quarter rely on additional income streams to get by.

“Working mothers feel they are stuck when it comes to progression, pay and support from employers – and more needs to be done to address this, particularly in this cost-of-living crisis,” said Ms Bamgboye.

She advised employers to organise more inclusive conversations from senior figures around career progression and pay rise opportunities, as well as offering flexible working and childcare support options for working parents.