Irish mothers aged 25 to 44 earn 14% less than their male counterparts, and a massive 31% less than women without children, according to a new international survey published last week. The analysis, by recruitment company Glassdoor, found that Irish mothers suffered the biggest pay gap when compared with 18 west European countries and the USA.

Surprisingly, Which Countries in Europe Have the Best Gender Equality in the Workplace? found that, on average, childless Irish women aged between 25 and 44 earn 17.5% more than their male counterparts. But the picture changes radically once they become mothers.

The research suggests that the high cost of childcare contributes to the huge pay penalty that Irish-based mothers experience. Ireland spends just 0.2% of GDP on childcare, compared to an OECD average of 0.8%.

As a result, the average family in Ireland spends 40% of its income on childcare, compared with just 12% across the OECD. With childcare costs consuming such a large proportion of earnings, mothers are often effectively forced into part-time work. Or they leave the workforce altogether.

This has a huge impact on average earnings.

IMPACT recently warned that the issue of childcare funding had fallen off the political agenda since the February general election. The union’s deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said it barely appeared on the priority lists drawn up by the “mainly middle-aged men” involved in discussions on the make-up of the new Government.

 “Irish parents face among the highest childcare costs in Europe, while staff in the sector, including well-qualified professionals, are among the lowest paid in our economy. Early years staff, including well-qualified workers, can earn as little as €5,150 a year in an increasingly-casualised sector,” he said.

Read Lughan Deane’s blog on the motherhood pay penalty.