More than three quarters, or 75.1%, of mothers with dependent children were in work in the UK for the period from April to June 2019, a record high, according to data from the Office of National Statistics.

The 75.1% figure is up from 74.2% during the same period last year.

ONS noted that the number of mothers in the labour market has grown substantially over the last 20 years, with 66.2% of mothers in employment in 2000.

Meanwhile, 92.6% of fathers with dependent children were in work in the UK.

Since 2000, fathers have consistently had a higher employment rate than men without dependent children. During this period, the rate of mothers in employment surpassed the employment rates of women without dependent children.

When it came to flexible arrangements for working parents, ONS found that 62.0% of parents said that it was generally possible to vary their working day to facilitate childcare responsibilities, with similar rates observed for mothers (61.3%) and fathers (62.8%).

According to the ONS, 28.5% of women with a child aged 14 years and under said they had reduced their working hours because of childcare reasons. This compared with 1 in 20 fathers (4.8%).

 Chief Executive of the Young Women’s Trust, Sophie Walker, told The Guardian, “Employers and benefit rules “punished family-friendly working” for millions of households. For women to increase their hours is often impossible when childcare is so expensive that it costs more than the pay they receive.” 

She added that benefit rules that meant young parents received less money via universal credit than those aged 25 or older should be reviewed, and childcare payments should be paid directly to providers, avoiding costly deposit payments.

Meanwhile, Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of the women’s campaign group the Fawcett Society, said it was welcome that there were more women in work, “but we need to ask what kind of work and whether they are in good jobs”.