At the weekend, ‘March of the Mummies’ protests took place across the UK.
Organised by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, the rallies called for government action to tackle the extortionate cost of childcare.
Pregnant Then Screwed founder Joeli Brearly says the UK’s childcare infrastructure “prevents many mothers from working, or working the number of hours they want to work’’.
The UK has some of the highest childcare costs in the world, second only to New Zealand.
Even before the cost-of-living crisis, this was a long-standing problem.
And I often reflect on the fact that were it not for an unforeseen tragedy, I wouldn’t have the career I have today.
This is how it went.
My daughter was two. She was a referendum baby. And like so many others during that time, I found myself with something to say about what was happening and the direction our country was headed in.
I was a young mum with a career history that included various call centre and retail jobs.
Then, an amazing opportunity presented itself: a bursary competition for new writers that would get me my first ever newspaper by-line.
I got an interview for the scheme.
And then my dad died.
Paying my childcare costs came at a terrible price
He was only 49. Killed in a car accident that wasn’t his fault and should never have happened.
Under the numbing influence of grief, I attended the interview.
I somehow got the bursary. I got in the paper.
Then, more big life stuff happened.
I separated from my daughter’s dad.
Suddenly I was the sole tenant on a flat I couldn’t afford.
I had a few writing gigs under my belt by that point but nothing that could sustain a household and its associated bills.
The wee one and I had a bumpy few months.
Then, just at the point when things were getting really dicey, I received a lump sum: An insurance payment that was meant to compensate for my dad’s unnecessary death.
We marched! #childcare is more critical to single parents than anyone. All strength to @PregnantScrewed #MarchOfTheMummies @Gingerbread pic.twitter.com/OEGMiaN4E6
— Victoria Benson (@_VictoriaBenson) October 29, 2022
As disconcerting as it felt to have a whole life – a person I loved – assigned a monetary value, it gave my daughter and I space to breathe.
It meant I could afford to put her into nursery a few days a week, which meant I could work.
Childcare costs hold back more than women’s career opportunities
As an unknown, untested and unqualified writer, it took a long time (and thousands of pounds in nursery fees) before I built up enough work and experience to get to a place where I was making a regular income.
I got there.
But the simple fact is that if my dad hadn’t died well before his time, trying wouldn’t have even been an option.
I would have found another job, of course.
I would have juggled childcare and retail work and we would have got by, because that’s what mums do.
But it shouldn’t be that way.
Childcare costs stifle opportunity and growth.
Stay at home mums are often belittled and scoffed at. But for many: What is the alternative?
There are almost 15,000 of you signed up to take to the streets in eleven cities for #MarchOfTheMummies this Saturday.
If this is the first you're hearing about the protest you can read more about our demands here https://t.co/qaQUVyPdIw pic.twitter.com/2785nagm8w— PregnantThenScrewed (@PregnantScrewed) October 27, 2022
You bust a gut for 40 hours a week only to see a huge chunk of your income going towards the very childcare you need to work those hours.
Scotland and the rest of the UK must do more for working women
In recent years, the Scottish Government has expanded free childcare entitlement but it doesn’t go far enough.
Across the UK, women are being priced out of the workforce.
Our economic productivity is reduced because for so many parents – particularly single mothers – working is simply unaffordable.
A society that truly valued the talent, expertise and career opportunities of women wouldn’t design a system that is stacked against them.
We shouldn’t need protests to highlight the fact that our childcare infrastructure isn’t fit for purpose.
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