Articles

For most of my younger years, politics felt distant. I associated it with Parliament on the television, men in suits arguing, complicated language about budgets and committees, and decisions that felt far away from my day-to-day life. I voted when I could, because I believed it was important, but I never really thought of domestic policy as something that directly shaped me as a woman.

I never really understood the phrase “the motherhood penalty” until I lived it. It sounded like one of those abstract feminist concepts, something you might read about in a policy paper or hear mentioned in a debate. But when I had my first child, the phrase took on a very real, very personal meaning. Suddenly, I felt like my career, my earnings, and even my sense of self had been hit with a price tag simply because I became a mother.

Unpaid work, cooking, cleaning, caring, volunteering, emotional labour, is the unacknowledged foundation of daily life. It sustains families, communities, and economies, yet remains invisible in national statistics, undervalued by policymakers, and disproportionately borne by women.

The gender pay gap in the UK reflects systemic inequalities shaped by workplace cultures, historic norms, care burdens, and policy gaps. When women earn less than men, it's not merely an economic statistic; it's a barrier to autonomy, opportunity, and long-term security.

Women in the UK retire with nearly half the wealth of men

The gender pay gap is one of the most revealing indicators of gender inequality in the UK. While significant progress has been made toward equal rights in the workplace, the journey toward equality in earnings between men and women is far fro The gender pay gap is one of the most revealing indicators of gender inequality in the UK. While significant progress has been made toward equal rights in the workplace, the journey toward equality in earnings between men and women is