A conference designed to draw attention to the motherhood penalty and discuss practical solutions to build a more inclusive future for mothers in the workplace took place at the Saïd Business School on 19 March 2026.
The Mind the Motherhood Gap conference brought together sector leaders, policy experts, and inspiring changemakers to explore the realities faced by working mothers. Participants heard how organisations are supporting mothers, examined how effective these initiatives are, and highlighted the skills mothers bring to the workplace. Interactive sessions also gave attendees the opportunity to contribute to discussions and share their own perspectives.
The conference was hosted by the Saïd Business School and opened by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracy.
The event was conceived and organised by Divisional colleagues Elisha Ward, Jennifer Chapin, and Clare Oxenbury-Palmer, alongside Anne Wolfes, Charikleia Tzanakou, and Catherine Neiner, with the support of University of Oxford’s Social Sciences Division, Faculty of Law, Saïd Business School, and Oxford Brookes University.
Key discussion points
During the morning, the audience heard about research by Professor Tina Miller (Oxford Brookes University) into the costs, causes, and consequences of the motherhood penalty.
Research presented by Professor Charikleia Tzanakou (Oxford Brookes Business School) on different approaches to supporting parents in higher education institutions revealed how some parenthood policies and practices can be truly transformative, while others simply signal compliance.
A panel explored why the motherhood penalty persists even in institutions committed to gender equality, in a discussion that included Sally Baden (Head of Athena Swan at Advance HE), Susan Harkness (Professor of Public Policy at the University of Bristol), Jane Johnson, (Founder of Careering into Motherhood), and Mahima Mitra (Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the Saïd Business School).
The afternoon opened with an online conversation between Beth Berry (author of Motherwhelmed: Challenging Norms, Untangling Truths, and Restoring Our Worth to the World) and Catherine Neiner (Back to Work), both based in the USA. Their discussion explored how identifying individual needs – and taking action to meet them at both an individual and organisational level – can lead to a more satisfying and sustainable work experience.
Emily Ma (University of Surrey) continued this reframing of motherhood, sharing research that positions motherhood as a critical stage of leadership development that we need to recognise.
The final panel discussion explored what a world-leading approach to eliminating the motherhood penalty might look like. The panel was chaired by Professor Sue Dopson and featured Joeli Brearley (founder of Pregnant Then Screwed and Director of Growth Spurt), Sarah Forbes (Co-Director of the Equal Parenting Project at the University of York), Dianne Greyson (founder of the #EthnicityPayGap campaign) and Almudena Sevilla (Professor of Economics and Social Policy at LSE).
Read the event summary on the Faculty of Law website
