One in four young mothers skips meals every day to save money, study finds

‘Young mums are telling us they want to work and become financially independent but barriers to work and low pay for those in work prevent that’

Study finds 28 per cent skip meals every day and half skip meals at least once a week to feed their children (Getty/iStock)

A quarter of young mothers in the UK are skipping meals every day to provide for their children, new research has found.

A study by Young Women’s Trust surveyed 520 mothers between the ages of 18 and 30 about finances, employment, social networks, stigma, childcare and employment support.

The research found 28 per cent skip meals every day and half skip meals at least once a week to feed their children.

Among those receiving universal credit, 37 per cent are skipping meals every day to make ends meet.

Young mothers who are in work often also struggle as they get less government support under the age of 25 and are more likely to be in low-paid jobs.

Under-25s are not entitled to the national living wage but they are more likely to work in low-paid sectors such as clerical work, care and cleaning.

Joe Levenson, campaigns and communications director for the organisation, which helps young women on low or no pay, said: “Young Women’s Trust has found that young mothers are facing huge challenges in their everyday lives as they struggle to make ends meet.

“A shocking number are regularly having to skip meals to feed their children. Young mums are telling us they want to work and become financially independent but barriers to work and low pay for those in work prevent that. Those on universal credit are even worse off.

“Politicians should support young people seeking to be financially independent by changing the law to ensure under-25s are entitled to the same national living wage as everyone else and rethinking universal credit, which is clearly doing huge damage. This would benefit businesses and the economy too.”

The research comes after a study by the charity found two out of five women managers think their workplace is sexist.

The study, which came out earlier in June, found one in five male bosses agreed sexist behaviour still exists in their organisation.

One in 10 men said men were better suited to management jobs than women – compared to 3 per cent of women.

The organisation said its survey also found that these sexist attitudes appear to be translating into decisions that were holding women back.

Two in five of those surveyed said it was more difficult for women to progress in their organisation than men. The study was based on a sample of more than 800 managers

The report said the figures showed little change on last year’s results, despite moves to improve women’s equality such as gender pay gap reporting.