Single mothers face a wide range of hardships, not least of which is in the labor market. This was emphasized by recent research from the University of Bristol, which highlighted the damage motherhood does to the economic prospects of single mothers.

The paper suggests that most previous work on this topic has assumed that the economic status of single mothers has focused on the lack of a “breadwinner” as the main cause of economic disadvantage. The new study suggests that both the loss of earnings and the absence of a partner play an equal part in the economic hardship single mothers face.

Economic disadvantage

The researcher assessed 25 years’ worth of longitudinal income data from across the United States to try and understand why single mothers experience economic disadvantage.

The study looks at the penalties associated with motherhood in the labor market alongside the increases in financial needs from the child and the cost of the absent partner to see how they combine to negatively affect the finances of single mothers.

“Importantly I found the transition to motherhood has just as large an impact on single mothers’ income as the absence of an earning partner,” the author explains. “When a woman becomes a mother, she is more likely than the male parent to take time out of the workforce, reduce her hours or miss out on opportunities for career progression for various reasons. These earnings penalties make women much more vulnerable financially in the event of separation or divorce.”

Maintaining employment

The author argues that their findings highlight the crucial importance of policies that help single mothers maintain employment following childbirth. These could include more support for childcare and family leave.

“While important, interventions that focus on moving mothers into work after they become single parents are likely to arrive too late,” they explain. “What we really need is to address the economic disadvantage women experience when they become mothers.”

What’s more, the author is at pains to point out that this is not simply a problem affecting less well-off women, as married mothers suffer similar penalties should they become single parents.

“This is partly because married women become more economically dependent following childbirth than unmarried mothers,” she explains. “The results suggest marriage provides very little income protection against the economic risks brought about by future divorce.”