We all know motherhood isn’t easy. And, rather than applauding mothers for raising the next generations of leaders, artists, and activists, it is sad how the world rather chooses to penalize women.
Recently, a UK research revealed a heartbreaking truth.
As per TOI, it stated women are significantly less likely than men to be offered a promotion at work after having children.
The report found just 28% of women were in full-time or self-employed work after three years of childbirth, compared to 90% of new dads. The data also captured the sad reality of motherhood that new moms, who return to work after becoming a parent were 66% less likely to get promoted in 5 years after the child was born compared to new fathers.
It also stated that how 26% of new fathers either received promotions or moved to a better job compared to 13% of mothers. Additionally, 17% of women were found to have left jobs completely in the five years post-childbirth, compared to 4% of men.
The researchers conducting the report looked at how childbirth affects employment and career progression across a sample group of more than 3,500 new parents. The team studied 2,281 mothers and 1,687 fathers for 3-5 years after their baby was born.
The results concluded that the more children a woman has, the more likely she is to stop working full-time.
Professor Susan shares how this study also explains, in part, why women are paid less than men:
“This loss in work experience, and in particular fulltime work experience, is an important part of the explanation for the gender pay gap and suggests women still suffer economically as a result of taking on childcare responsibilities,”
Another professor also shared how these facts unlikely to change as kids grow up:
“While we’ve only looked at the first five years following childbirth, these factors suggest that the patterns we’ve observed are unlikely to be reversed as kids grow older.”
Though the study was conducted in the UK, which is one of the developed countries for women to work and live, we wonder if it would be completely wrong to presume the findings may be worse for mothers in developing countries like India.
As today’s moms are pushing themselves to show the world that they are no less a professional only because they have embarked on a journey of motherhood, it is sad how the world entangled in its own gender biases refuses to applaud the effort of moms.
But if you are a mom, we request you not to give up on your dreams and career. We hope you would seek inspiration from Mary Kom, Indra Nooyi, Kareena Kapoor and many more to not let the unfair world break your spirit to turn your dreams into reality.
If you are one of those who are helping new moms to restart their career or support them in setting up businesses, please write to us to publish your story.
