The UK music sector is among the worst of the country’s industries for mothers returning to work after having children, new research reveals. According to data from the Mums in Music campaign spearheaded by international soprano Lola Ganzarolli, only 7% of UK women feel that the music industry good at supporting mothers’ returning to the workplace.
At a time when Andy Burnham’s new government is placing increased emphasis on getting more people working, and when the upcoming November budget is expected to reveal an uptick in spending on health and social care, the Mums in Music initiative aims to make sure mothers are not left out of the conversation.
The campaign’s latest research also revealed that Journalism (6%) and the Performing Arts (8%) were bottom of the list of industries women feel mothers are able to easily return to, while Healthcare (38%), Education (35%) and Retail (23%) were rated top among those surveyed for supporting their return to work after maternity leave.
Among the women surveyed working in the media, marketing, advertising, music, arts and creative industries, just one in four felt financially supported enough to return to work, while three in four worried that juggling both work and family will affect the success of their return. Particular barriers identified by two in five women working in the arts included a lack of accommodating measures from their workplace (40%), a lack of access to affordable childcare (40%) and the feeling that their employed treated them differently since becoming a mother (40%).
The data shows the clear need for more support for working mothers, from flexible working hours and affordable childcare, to deeper understanding from employers around the developing needs – and strengths – of new mothers.
Having found her experience of pregnancy and motherhood creatively enriching, but challenging when it came to her return to the concert platform, soprano Lola Ganzarolli launched the initiative to bring more awareness to the barriers mothers face when returning to the workplace – especially in the arts sector.
Talking about the motivation behind her Mums in Music campaign, Lola Ganzarolli commented: ‘They say it takes a village to raise a child, and very often in modern society we don’t have that village who are able to step in. For artists trying to continue their creative career after becoming mothers, a challenging journey is made more difficult by a lack of support from arts organisations. This represents a huge loss for the creative sector – the immense artistic growth women experience with motherhood should be celebrated. With Mums in Music, I hope to establish greater understanding of the needs of mothers returning to their creative careers and a stronger presence for mothers in the arts sphere.”
Throughout 2026, Lola has worked the understand and champion the needs of mothers in her profession and beyond, integrating the Mums in Music initiative into her performance practice, with a recent collaborative performance in Barcelona seeing her join forces with writer, poet and mother Maria Kabanova for an evening of music and poetry providing the backdrop for a wider discussion about creativity, motherhood and the realities of sustaining an artistic life while raising children.
Lola Ganzarolli’s next concert will take place in Milan, Italy, at Milano Music Zone on 13 October 2026.
