No paid maternity leave: new charter exposes shocking gap facing Britain’s female contract scientists
Ministers have unveiled a Women in Research charter promising paid family leave and flexible hours for women in research. Freelance and contract researchers, though, may still be left waiting
Just 31% of UK professors are women. That single number tells you almost everything about why this week’s announcement matters.
Science Secretary Liz Kendall says outdated ways of working and employment policies are hurting the economy: “For far too long, pioneering women have been forced to choose between their careers and their family life – holding them back while starving our country of amazing talent.”
More than 50 universities and research bodies have signed the new Women in Research Charter. It promises paid maternity leave, flexible working, and tougher action on workplace harassment. For staff researchers, it’s a genuine step forward.
Why the numbers matter
Women make up 53% of science undergraduates. Yet by the time careers reach the top, most have vanished from the pipeline. Men are nearly three times more likely to build lasting careers in R&D. Something is pushing women out along the way.
Barriers like no paid maternity leave for female PhD researchers hold them back from pursuing or developing their careers in research – ultimately depriving us all of breakthroughs that could save lives.
The charter blames short-term contracts and career paths that punish anyone who takes a break. That description will sound familiar to a lot of self-employed people.
Kate Coldwell, who is a current Daphne Jackson Trust fellow, said:
Research careers are often built around short-term contracts and an assumption of uninterrupted progression. For women who step away, whether because of health, fertility, caring responsibilities or other life pressures, the route back can be very hard to see.
That’s a world freelance and contract researchers know intimately.
What the charter actually promises
Signatories must match what UKRI already offers its funded PhD students. That means at least 52 weeks of maternity leave, with a full stipend for the first 26 weeks. Partners get two weeks paid leave too.
There’s also a push for genuinely part-time funding schemes, with adjusted timelines and fairer assessments. Career breaks should no longer count against researchers when they apply for grants or promotions.
Kate Coldwell, said, “Before my Daphne Jackson Fellowship, I had not seen enough visible examples of people successfully returning to research. The Fellowship gave me confidence, structure and support to rebuild my research career. This charter matters because retaining women in research is vital, but so is making a return possible when careers do not follow a straight line.”
The gap for contract and freelance researchers
Here’s the catch. The charter applies to employers and funded PhD students. It says nothing about self-employed researchers, freelance consultants, or those on rolling short-term contracts outside institutional payroll.
That’s a significant chunk of the research workforce. Many postdoctoral researchers move between fixed-term roles for years before securing anything permanent. Others work as independent consultants entirely. That is if they built up a career before taking a career break for family caring responsibilities.
For this group, statutory maternity pay rules still apply as they would for any self-employed worker. There’s no institutional charter obliging a client or funder to offer flexible hours or paid leave even if the researcher is on an off-payroll PAYE contract for tax purposes. The protections on offer this week simply do not mention them.
That said, the charter commits to funding schemes being “genuinely deliverable on a part-time basis” – including adjusted timelines, applications and assessments – “so researchers can continue to lead their pioneering work however it best fits with their home lives. Researchers must also be able to work flexibly so that key opportunities are not closed off due to caring responsibilities or career breaks.”
What recruiters and agencies should do next
Recruitment agencies and umbrella companies placing researchers on contract work have an opportunity here. Asking if the university is signed up for the Charter is a good start. Plus, offering enhanced maternity support, flexible placements, or transparent pay data could become a genuine competitive advantage.
As Rosalind Campion of the Academy of Medical Sciences noted, women often leave research “at the career stages where their experience and leadership are most needed.” Agencies that fill that gap, rather than ignore it, stand to win loyalty from a workforce the sector cannot afford to lose.
The charter is a welcome start. But for off-payroll contract researchers, the real work of closing this gap hasn’t begun.
Related article: The maternity pay gap: Why (and when) UK self-employed mothers should consider switching to a limited company – Freelance Informer
