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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/29/financial-incentives-are-stacked-against-mothers-staying-at-home
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| 'Financial incentives are stacked against mothers staying at home' | 'Financial incentives are stacked against mothers staying at home' |
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| Anne Fennell | Anne Fennell |
| “I feel like society doesn’t value the role any more,” says Anne Fennell, who worked in publishing before having the first of her six boys. “To be a mother at home is portrayed in the media as being old-fashioned, not contributing to the economy or wasting your education. | “I feel like society doesn’t value the role any more,” says Anne Fennell, who worked in publishing before having the first of her six boys. “To be a mother at home is portrayed in the media as being old-fashioned, not contributing to the economy or wasting your education. |
| “Because I have six children now people seem to think it is slightly justified, but I felt the same way when I had one.” | “Because I have six children now people seem to think it is slightly justified, but I felt the same way when I had one.” |
| Fennell says her own mother stayed at home with her for the first four years of her life “so she was my first role model. I definitely wanted to be the one raising my children. I wanted consistency because everyone has got slight differences in style.” | Fennell says her own mother stayed at home with her for the first four years of her life “so she was my first role model. I definitely wanted to be the one raising my children. I wanted consistency because everyone has got slight differences in style.” |
| Fennell admits to having struggled with her sense of self in the months after giving up work to care for her son when she was 25. “I had a slight identity crisis because you are what you do,” she explains. “There’s safety in being able to say ‘I’m an editor in a publishing company’. It takes a while to build up other things.” | Fennell admits to having struggled with her sense of self in the months after giving up work to care for her son when she was 25. “I had a slight identity crisis because you are what you do,” she explains. “There’s safety in being able to say ‘I’m an editor in a publishing company’. It takes a while to build up other things.” |
| Now 41, her experience of full-time motherhood has been a positive one. “I have loved it,” she says of an existence that is not without drudgery. “The toilet is dirty every time you go and there are piles of washing but every job has its chores. There is also the magic. The boys are so funny.” | Now 41, her experience of full-time motherhood has been a positive one. “I have loved it,” she says of an existence that is not without drudgery. “The toilet is dirty every time you go and there are piles of washing but every job has its chores. There is also the magic. The boys are so funny.” |
| With her children now aged between two and 16, Fennell says she and her partner, who rent their north London home, have faced periods of financial strain. The impact of the means testing of child benefit led her to join, and now chair, the campaign group Mothers at Home Matter. | With her children now aged between two and 16, Fennell says she and her partner, who rent their north London home, have faced periods of financial strain. The impact of the means testing of child benefit led her to join, and now chair, the campaign group Mothers at Home Matter. |
| “The real problem is that most mothers have to work because government policies of the last decade mean every financial incentive is stacked against the choice to be at home.” | “The real problem is that most mothers have to work because government policies of the last decade mean every financial incentive is stacked against the choice to be at home.” |
| Erika Nilsson-Humphrey | Erika Nilsson-Humphrey |
| “I really enjoy working; I find joy in work and in being creative,” says Erika Nilsson-Humphrey, a former investment banker who founded the upmarket men’s fashion website Dappad. | “I really enjoy working; I find joy in work and in being creative,” says Erika Nilsson-Humphrey, a former investment banker who founded the upmarket men’s fashion website Dappad. |
| “I love being a mother and Vivi [her three-year-old daughter] is the most important thing in my life but it wouldn’t be enough for me being at home all the time,” she says. “I think I would become unhappy and that wouldn’t be good for her.” | “I love being a mother and Vivi [her three-year-old daughter] is the most important thing in my life but it wouldn’t be enough for me being at home all the time,” she says. “I think I would become unhappy and that wouldn’t be good for her.” |
| Born in Sweden, Nilsson-Humphrey lives with her husband and daughter in London, where she spent eight years working in investment banking. Starting her own business means she is no longer tied to a gruelling working week that would mean leaving home before her daughter woke up and returning when she was asleep. “Life is too short for that,” she says. “I’m trying to have more balance.” | Born in Sweden, Nilsson-Humphrey lives with her husband and daughter in London, where she spent eight years working in investment banking. Starting her own business means she is no longer tied to a gruelling working week that would mean leaving home before her daughter woke up and returning when she was asleep. “Life is too short for that,” she says. “I’m trying to have more balance.” |
| The driven entrepreneur, who lists Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter, among her role models, continued working on the business plan for her online personal shopping service despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 when her daughter was eight months old. | The driven entrepreneur, who lists Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter, among her role models, continued working on the business plan for her online personal shopping service despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 when her daughter was eight months old. |
| “I always felt like I wanted to work but, looking back, it was a bit crazy,” she says. “It would have been good to have paused for a few minutes.” | “I always felt like I wanted to work but, looking back, it was a bit crazy,” she says. “It would have been good to have paused for a few minutes.” |
| From the outside it looks as if the 38-year-old has it all, but she admits to bouts of self-doubt: “The worse thing is when I feel like I am rushing everywhere,” she says. “It is a juggling act but I think you have to accept it for what it is and surrender to it. I think women put too much pressure on themselves.” | From the outside it looks as if the 38-year-old has it all, but she admits to bouts of self-doubt: “The worse thing is when I feel like I am rushing everywhere,” she says. “It is a juggling act but I think you have to accept it for what it is and surrender to it. I think women put too much pressure on themselves.” |
| Whereas many women return to work for financial reasons, Nilsson-Humphrey says it was her choice: “I think society needs women to be working to provide balance in the workplace … it’s like when people say the financial crisis would have been different if it had been Lehman Sisters rather than Lehman Brothers.” | Whereas many women return to work for financial reasons, Nilsson-Humphrey says it was her choice: “I think society needs women to be working to provide balance in the workplace … it’s like when people say the financial crisis would have been different if it had been Lehman Sisters rather than Lehman Brothers.” |