February 2021

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This briefing looks at how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting parents. The briefing is published jointly with UK Women's Budget Group, Engender and Close the Gap (Scotland), Women Equality Network Wales, and Northern Ireland Women’s Budget Group (NIWBG). 

This research was funded by Standard Life Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust.

You can find the briefing by clicking here. 

It sets out the experiences of parents during 2020. It comprises analysis of data from a survey of 1,003 parents of under-14s conducted in November and December.

Key findings include:

• Mothers were more likely to say that they were struggling financially (40%) compared to fathers (35%).
• Over half (53%) of single mothers said they were struggling financially, compared to 35% of married mothers and 46% of cohabiting mothers.
• Parents on lower incomes were more likely to be affected by losses of job and hours. Nearly a third (31%) of parents with household incomes below £20,000 lost hours, compared to 23% of those with household incomes above £40,000. 13% of respondents on lower incomes lost jobs compared to 9% of those on higher incomes.

This new research shows that we need policies that truly support women and parents economically at home as well as in the labour market, including a strong social security safety net and investment in a care economy.