Solving The Motherhood Penalty: Empowering Women's Return to Work

Amelia Miller, published psychologist from the University of Cambridge and co-founder of ivee, discusses how The Motherhood Penalty caps women’s lifetime earnings - and what we can do about it.

Neither did Cally, a chartered accountant who had risen to Director before taking a career break to start a family. When she tried to return to work, she encountered a significant hurdle: her demands had shifted, and she felt her skills were outdated - a huge blow to her confidence. Despite two years of job-hunting, she ultimately accepted a role with a 60% salary cut - not as an accountant, but as a receptionist.

This transition brought her professional growth to a standstill, exacerbating the financial and emotional toll.

This is the story of Lydia and Amelia Miller’s mum. Sisters from London, they were shocked that, in 2024, women are still facing extreme bias on their return-to-work journey.

They set out to build ivee, a game-changing, AI-powered platform designed to help women effortlessly re-enter the workforce- without the pay-cut.

So… How big is the problem?

Each year over 150 million women leave the workforce, and three quarters of them will struggle to re-enter.

This phenomenon, coined “The Motherhood Penalty” by sociologists, is estimated to make up 80% of the gender pay gap. A small gender pay gap exists between men and women in their 20’s, but it starts to widen when women hit their 30’s and start to have children. R esearch from Claudia Goldin on this issue earned her the Nobel Prize in October.

Currently, there is no scalable tech solution to help these chronically underserved women return to work.

Why is returning to work so daunting for women?

The cracks are clear. We must rebuild the ladder, rung by transformative rung.Recruiting women who have temporarily stepped away from their careers and are eager to re-enter the workforce is a no-brainer. But given 50% of returners are not actively using LinkedIn, employers need to explore alternative platforms to reach this valuable pool of candidates.

ivee's Solution:

ivee is a new tech platform that has the VC-backing of Techstars and a roster of A-List tech investors. ivee uses cutting-edge AI to addresses three critical pain points for returners:

🚀Skills-Matching Marketplace: ivee leverages behavioural economics to increase female applications, highlighting flexible work options and non-negotiables to attract this unique talent pool.

📈 Gen-AI Upskilling: ivee provides personalised content and micro-learning opportunities to update industry knowledge and build confidence.

👫Vibrant Community: ivee fosters connections, peer-to-peer mentoring, and showcases success stories, empowering women to network and share experiences.

Through ivee, companies can access qualified, experienced professionals seeking flexible work options. Plus, ivee seamlessly integrates with existing ATS systems for smooth hiring.

"Witnessing firsthand the immense challenges women face, we realised this isn't just a personal story. Across the globe, hundreds of millions of women struggle to re-launch their careers, often experiencing significant financial and emotional setbacks. We knew technology could be the key to unlocking their potential, and ivee was born”.