March of the Mummies: parents taking part in Halloween themed protest in Manchester on cost of being a mum

Mums and parents will take to the streets in Manchester city centre for a major Halloween-themed protest about the cost of being a mother.

The March of the Mummies will take place in the city this weekend as campaigners demand the government reforms issues including parental leave, affordable childcare, and flexible working hours. The Manchester protest is one of 11 taking place in cities across the UK.

Here’s what you need to know about how you can take part in the Manchester demonstration and why campaigners are marching to demand change.

When and where is the March of the Mummies protest in Manchester?

The March of the Mummies protest in Manchester city centre takes place on Saturday (29 October), beginning at 11am. It will take place in St Peter’s Square.

The family-friendly protest is free but organisers are asking people to reserve a spot on the Eventbrite page.

The event is being hosted by Pregnant Then Screwed, a team of campaigners and activists who fight for the rights of pregnant women and mothers, offering mentor schemes and legal advice with no charge. March of the Mummies first took place back in 2017 across six cities in the UK and is returning this year with what organisers hope will be a significant increase in attendees.

Why is the protest taking place?

The March of the Mummies has three main demands: good-quality, affordable childcare for all children, flexible working as the default and ring-fenced, properly-paid paternity leave.

The campaigners say that with a significant decrease in childcare providers, mothers are being forced to leave their workplace which, in turn, is resulting in an increased gender pay gap and more families living below the poverty line.

A study carried out by University College London last year found that mothers returning to work after having their first child are earning on average 28% less than in the first year. The ‘motherhood penalty’ continues to cut earnings over the next six years by up to 45%, the researchers found. The campaign also says the UK compares unfavourably with other countries when it comes to pay for mothers and fathers and how expensive the childcare system is.

What have the organisers said?

Joeli Brearley, the CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, said it was important to raise awareness of people who are currently struggling with the cost of being parents. She founded the charity back in 2015 after her own experience of pregnancy discrimination and is now an Amnesty International human rights defender and a member of the United Nations working group Women’s Human Rights in the Changing World of Work.

Joeli said: “Mothers are set up to fail. We have unaffordable, inaccessible, dysfunctional childcare in this country due to years of neglect and underfunding by the government. Parents in other countries do not have to put up with this. We have the third worst ranking maternity benefit and the worst ranking paternity benefit in Europe.”