As Pearson vice-president of global brand Rachel Exton points out, a lack of ambition is not the reason 44.6% of mothers responding to the 2026 Career & Salary Survey say being a parent has harmed their progression.

The reason is a system failing to embrace flexibility, which discounts the value parents bring and isn’t prioritising building a pipeline of future leaders.

To discuss what must change to stop parents leaving the industry, Marketing Week deputy managing editor and head of insight, Charlotte Rogers, is joined on The Marketing Week Podcast by Exton and Alex Lloyd Hunter, co-founder of campaign group The Dad Shift.

In this episode we analyse Marketing Week’s new data exposing the progression crisis facing working parents and explore why the UK’s two-week paternity leave is a major contributing factor to the gender pay gap – which within marketing has hit a five-year high.

We also discuss the impact of new day one paternity leave rights, why six weeks statutory paternity leave would be a good starting point for change and why flexibility should never be positioned as a favour.

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