The shameful secret behind this photo of a mum and her three kids

It looks like a happy snap of a perfect family - but Sydney mum Anna McFarlane says it hides a cold hard truth Australia should be ashamed of.

Anna McFarlane always knew she wanted to be a mum but it is only recently that she considered the “terrifying” financial hit she has taken by having her three kids – an issue that makes her feel “enraged”.

The Sydney mum has taken a total of two-and-a-half years out of the workforce to care for her three children, now aged six, four and one, which she conservatively estimates has cost her $24,000 in lost superannuation.

She also returned to work part-time after her first child – further reducing her super pot.

On average, taking just one year of parental leave from full-time work will cost an Aussie woman $16,800 in lost super, a report from fintech company Finder found.

Ms McFarlane accessed the Government’s 18-week paid parental scheme where superannuation isn’t paid – and neither major political party has committed to changing the policy.

Anna McFarlane wants to see changes made to benefit her three daughters. Picture: Supplied

The 33-year-old said she feels “devalued” that she wasn’t entitled to superannuation while on maternity leave, alongside being further penalised due to her career choice.

“I have been an early childhood educator for 15 years and my entire professional career has been a personal sacrifice really as it’s a sector I feel so passionate about and haven’t been able to walk away from and that has come at a huge financial cost,” she told news.com.au.

“That includes my super as my wage is so pathetic. For me, the issue of super is tied up in the female-dominated sector where wages are pitiful already, and therefore super contributions are equally pitiful.”

The super gap between men and women is shocking with a whopping 28 per cent difference.

Women retire with a median superannuation balance of $146,900, compared to men who walk away with $204,107 at retirement when aged 60 to 64 years, recent data from KPMG found.

The huge money gap between women and men when they retire is appalling – that’s why news.com.au believes the next Australian government should commit to paying superannuation while mums are on paid parental leave.

Ms McFarlane is one of millions impacted by the gender super gap between men and women, which has steadily increased for females in their early 30s since 2013.

Women aged between 30 to 34 had 12 per cent less super than men in 2013-14 but this has blown out to 17 per cent by 2018-19, the Industry Super Association found.

The mum said she feels “scared” about her financial future and believes she will have to rely on her inheritance to fund her retirement, adding it must be dreadful for other women who don’t have that kind of fallback.

“I feel really concerned about my financial security in the future, particularly given I work in a sector that doesn’t get paid well enough to afford me the luxury of owning my own home,” she said.

“I have no investments. I just don’t have any wealth that is gaining anything. I feel very scared.”

She is worried about the ‘scary’ financial future and its impact on her and children. Picture: Supplied

The average woman would have to add an extra $236 per month out of their own pocket into their super or work an extra 11 years to retire with the same super balance as men, Finder’s report revealed.

Ms McFarlane said the gender super gap is particularly troubling considering women live longer than men, yet she feels like the problem is being “ignored”.

It’s also a major obstacle as it means women are torn between creating a secure attachment with their children and returning to work to try to stem the financial loss, an experience she has witnessed countless times as a childcare educator, she said.

Parents deserve to spend a period of time connecting with their children rather than having to rush back to work. Picture: Supplied

She said it’s one more example of the huge issue women face in Australia where they feel completely “disenfranchised” and she is particularly frightened by it as a mum to three girls.

“I feel furious about it and I feel a degree of despair that it’s 2022 and we are still fighting these issues,” she said.

“I would just love to understand why more people in our country aren’t just totally driven by rage on this issue. What’s the silence about? We are doing our society and our future children such an enormous disservice at the moment.

“Having children is an essential part of our future yet we don’t reward families for that and I think it comes at an enormous cost now and in the future. I also wonder about what the psychological impact for women is, who are leaving their children in a group care environment for in excess of 50 hours a week, to work in high stress environments and to be paid substantially less than their male counterparts.

“We are living in a time of extreme inequality dressed up as that we have achieved it all.”

She has taken 2.5 years out of the workforce to raise her children Picture: Supplied

Anna feels despair that an issue like the gender super gap is still being fought in 2022. Picture: Supplied

In total, women have lost $1.86 billion in super contributions since the Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay scheme began in June 2011, according to Industry Super Australia.

A mother-of-two who received super on government parental leave pay and from their employer would have $26,500 more super at retirement.

The Government’s own Retirement Income Review also found the modest payment of super linked to the Commonwealth’s 18-week paid parental leave scheme would be an important step towards improving gender equity in retirement.