A new study highlighted in Forbes magazine this month reveals that there are now as many as 287,000 mothers freelancing in the UK – a 70 per cent rise on the number recorded this time a decade ago.

According to the highly influential magazine, one of the reasons women with children are increasingly turning towards contracting and freelancing is in an attempt to combat the growing problem of ‘maternity discrimination’.

Up-to-date figures suggest that 54,000 women in the UK lose their jobs due to pregnancy or new motherhood every single year, leaving many new mothers in a very difficult situation indeed.

At this stage, many mothers feel more inclined to accept redundancy packages rather than ‘kick up a fuss’ with their boss, which they fear could have implications for their future career options.

Due to this, an increasing number of mothers are setting up as freelancers – and are fast realising that this way of working is actually much better suited to them, delivering a more flexible work/life balance and enabling them to spend more time with their children as and when appropriate.

According to Forbes, UK mothers now account for around 15 per cent of all of the nation’s freelancers – a number which appears to be rapidly increasing as more and more begin to recognise the fantastic benefits of being their own boss.