Earlier this year, BITC research conducted by Ipsos, found that nearly six out of ten women (58%) say caring responsibilities have stopped them applying for promotion or a new job, and one in five (19%) have left a job because it was too hard to balance work and care.

The research also found that one in three (32%) Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse people have left or considered leaving a job due to a lack of flexibility compared with one in five (21%) white people.

BITC’s work in communities covers many areas including understanding and addressing the barriers that are stopping people from gaining employment. BITC currently works in a number of areas including Newport, Rochdale, Bradford, Coventry, Norwich, Sheffield, and Blackpool.

In these areas, the cost of childcare is equally as high. For example, the median weekly take-home pay in Rochdale is £374. For working parents in Rochdale, it costs £238 per week to send one child under two to nursery full-time, which works out as 64% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay. Across other areas, the cost to send one child under two to nursery full-time when compared to median take-home pay equates to:

• In Bradford, the median weekly take-home pay is £386, with full-time nursery costing £242 a week or 63% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay,
• In Coventry, the median weekly take-home pay is £412, with full-time nursery costing £267 a week or 65% of one parent’s take-home pay.
• In Sheffield, the median weekly take-home pay is £404, with full-time nursery costing £242 a week or 60% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay.
• In Newport, the median weekly take-home pay is £396, with full-time nursery costing £247 a week or 62% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay.
• In Blackpool, the median weekly take-home pay is £344, with full-time nursery costing £238 a week or 69% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay.
• In Norwich, the median weekly take-home pay is £408, with full-time nursery costing £304 a week or 74% of one parent’s weekly take-home pay.

Katy Neep, Gender Director at Business in the Community, said:

“The percentage of take-home pay spent on childcare should be a wake-up call. While most families do receive some financial support from government, everyone’s situation is different, and some parents may have to fork out half their weekly pay just so that they can go to work. Childcare costs on top of rising household bills are putting working parents, particularly women in a very difficult position. Many working women are having to decide whether working is even worth it when they look at what’s left in their bank accounts after paying for childcare.

“It is a sad but startling fact that women are being priced out of employment with reports showing that the number of women not working to look after family has risen 5 per cent in the past year. This is a crisis of access and affordability. Employers must look at pay as well as challenging their preconceptions about where, when and how work is done. Employers need to transform the way they think about combining paid work and care and ensure that women are not leaving the workplace or passing up a promotion because it is all too hard to balance.”