The motherhood penalty

Couples today are tending to delay having families until they are into their thirties... or older (Patel et al, 2024). While our modern, Western society expects all citizens to want to pursue a career, new parents may feel guilt at harbouring career aspirations (Niemistö et al, 2021). Tensions arise between prioritising work over family, creating role conflict between the professional and the parent (Niemistö et al, 2021), known as "work-family conflict" (Kelley et al., 2020, p. 1).

This work-family conflict affects women parents more than men, and is known as the "Motherhood penalty". Defined as "a loss of human capital when women become mothers and subsequently take time off work", this appears to "divide [women's] attention between their jobs and home, and make other potentially detrimental career decisions based on their children" (Kelley et al., 2020, p. 1). No judgement there, then, with that "potentially detrimental career decisions" comment (p. 1). 

This penalty plays out upon women's return to work from parental leave via lower earnings, and a slowing career progression (Ladge, 2005; Lucifora et al, 2021; Torres et al., 2024). In Aotearoa, new mothers returning to work experience a 17% gender pay gap, compared to 5% for childless women (Baird et al., 2023). This is further confounded by the dual burden which women carry as they undertake close to 50% greater share of the 'volunteer' domestic work than do men (Hanna et al., 2023). 

Workplace stereotypes exacerbate the less remuneration and heavier workload issues, with young mothers also being perceived as less reliable, less competent, and less committed to their profession (Hampson, 2018). Yet research shows that new mothers bring an array of valuable skills to the work environment, including improved time management, problem-solving and multi-tasking (Ma et al., 2022; Torres et al., 2024). New parents also report experiencing increased motivation to fulfil work responsibilities, cognitive knowledge attributed to greater experience in managing challenges, improved working relationships and greater collegial appreciation (Torres et al., 2024).

Parenting is reported as aiding development of both courage and confidence (Torres et al., 2024), with new mothers displaying highly desirable leadership traits of greater willpower, emotional intelligence, patience and resilience (Ma et al., 2020). If workplaces are progressive, with flexible arrangements and supportive managers who prioritise families, women are more likely to take on professional challenges with increased confidence (Ma et al., 2020).

Motherhood can also lead to a reassessment of personal values and professional success. Some mothers report feeling more motivated to excel in various aspects of their lives, including both work and family responsibilities. For these women, the experience of parenting enhances life satisfaction and contributes to a more holistic understanding of success (Ma et al, 2022). 

Regina

References:

Baird, M., Cooper, R., Parker, J., & Donnelly, N. (Eds.). (2023). Women and Work in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences, challenges and ways forward. Massey University Press.

Hampson, S. C. (2018). Mothers do not make good workers: the role of work/life balance policies in reinforcing gendered stereotypes. Global Discourse, 8(3), 510–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2018.1521129.

Hanna, T., Meisel, C., Moyer, J., Azcona, G., Bhatt, A., & Valero, S. D. (2023). Forecasting Time Spent in Unpaid Care and Domestic Work [Technical Brief]. United Nations. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/technical-brief-forecasting-time-spent-in-unpaid-care-and-domestic-work-en.pdf

Kelley, H., Galbraith, Q., & Strong, J. (2020). Working moms: Motherhood penalty or motherhood return?. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(1), 102075, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2019.102075

Ladge, J. (2005). Never a good time? Exploring relationships between timing childbirth and perceived career success. Academy of Management, 2005(1), B1-B6. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2005.18778521

Lucifora, C., Meurs, D., & Villar, E. (2021). The “mommy track” in the workplace. Evidence from a large French firm. Labour Economics, 72, 102035, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102035

Ma, E., Kim, M. S., Yang, W., Wu, L., & Xu, S. T., (2022). On the bright side of motherhood—A mixed method enquiry. Annals of Tourism Research, 92, 103350, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2022.103350

Niemistö, C., Hearn, J., Kehn, C., & Tuori, A. (2021). Motherhood 2.0: slow progress for career women and motherhood within the ‘Finnish Dream’. Work, Employment and Society, 35(4), 696-715. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020987392

Patel, A., Wilson, C. A., Davidson, J, Lam, J. Y., Graham, M. E., & Seemann, N. M. (2024). The Intersection of Family Planning and Perception of Career Advancement in General Surgery. Journal of Surgical Research, 296, 481-488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.01.017

Torres, A. J. C., Barbosa-Silva, L., Oliveira-Silva, L. C., Olívia-Pillar-Perez, M., Rodrigues, G., Fisher, A. N., & Ryan, M. K. (2024). The impact of motherhood on women’s career progression: A scoping review of evidence-based interventions. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), 275, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040275

* Regina Worle has kindly prepared much of the material for this post