Women’s increased presence in the United States work force is undeniable. The reality is that most working women will become mothers. Not surprisingly, the most significant increase in female work force participation is amongst childbearing women. Over 70%
of women with young children are engaged in paid labor.

Another fact is that American women are subjected to systematic economic discrimination. Statistics show that on average, men earn 25% more than women. The largest portion of the wage disparity between men and women is attributable to employed mothers. For women under the age of 35, the wage gap between non-mothers and mothers is even greater than the wage gap between the sexes. For men, parenthood actually results in a wage increase. The question becomes: Why is it that women bear the financial brunt of the parenthood burden?

Career Gaps
Career gaps are the most significant contributing factors to what has become known as the motherhood penalty. The coincidence of motherhood and gaps in employment is far from unexpected. Yet, these gaps depreciate earning potential and impede career goal attainment. It has been shown that even a short hiatus will result in an average wage penalty of 18%. Longer career interruptions correspond with greater wage depreciation. A three year hiatus results in an estimated 37% loss in earnings.

Hesitancy to Hire “Sequencing Moms”
The term “sequencing moms” has been adopted to describe the process by which 21st century mothers enter and exit the labor force. The process is a sequence of events that entails participation, withdrawal, and subsequent reentry into the workforce. Many employers are reluctant to hire sequencing mothers because absences from paid labor participation are construed as lowered levels of dedication to work and less work experience. This hesitancy to hire can represent a formidable obstacle to mothers seeking return to paid employment.

Stereotyping
Subscription to sexually defined stereotypes perpetuates a male-centered view of the ideal
employee. Characteristics such as rarely taking time off, having no or few personal obligations, and an ability to maintain an unwavering commitment to the job over long periods of time are consistent with the model employee prototype. Unfortunately, these characteristics diverge sharply from the socially prescribed standards of an ideal parent.

The expectations associated with the ideal employee and the ideal parent are linked to a time when the workforce was comprised mostly of men, and women were largely confined to household duties and childcare. It is due to the social endorsement of these outdated roles that the female parent endures the greatest pressure from familial obligations even while engaged in full-time employment. The pervasiveness of stereotypical sex role expectations is a primary cause of the challenges faced by mothers seeking to reenter the workplace.

Discrimination
Despite anti-discrimination laws that forbid employers from inquiring about parental status or intentionally disfavoring women, illegal questions are frequently asked during interviews and unfair hiring policies are disturbingly common.

The Fordham University School of Law reports a considerable increase in workplace discrimination cases that are based on parenting responsibilities. In particular, pregnancy discrimination cases have seen a 35% increase since 1992. This increase is even more surprising in light of the 9% decrease in birth rates during this time period.

Underlying discriminatory employer practices are enduring misconceptions and false beliefs about pregnant women and mothers. Research clearly demonstrates negative stereotyping of child-bearing women. Perceived competency levels of potential female employees were significantly lowered by merely adding the phrase “has a two year-old child” to their job applications. Alarmingly, research consistently shows that parental status bears significantly on the evaluations of job applicants and current employees.

Studies capturing the experiences of sequencing mothers further expose the struggles associated with maternal employment. Based on 2008 national survey results, the New Mothers Speak Out publication documents some of the challenges faced by mothers reentering the workforce.

High Stress and Low Support Levels
The postpartum return to paid labor is accompanied by high stress levels. Fifty-eight percent of all mothers surveyed experienced debilitating stress. Insufficient partner/spousal support (36%) and a non-supportive workplace (29%) were cited as prominent problems.

Physical and Mental Health Problems
The survey revealed that new mothers experience a multitude of postpartum health challenges that did not exist prior to giving birth. Sixty-two percent reported exhaustion and 44% indicated that either physical or emotional health problems had negatively impacted their ability to provide care for their children.

Inability to Achieve the Work-Family Balance
Both single and married mothers report that the balancing act of managing work and family issues is incredibly taxing and to some degree, unmanageable. This difficulty occurs largely because women are assigned the majority of childrearing responsibilities. More than half of the survey’s respondents indicated difficulties in making childcare arrangements as a major obstacle.

Another recent study researching women’s postpartum return to employment measured the success rate of new mothers’ reintegration into the workforce. Self-assessment of functionality and satisfaction levels was used to measure reintegration success rates.

Persistent Difficulty in Fulfilling the Demands of Multiple Roles
Even after an “adjustment period” of a year most of the women surveyed felt that they were fulfilling their work, home, and social roles at a sub par rate; the median reported value across roles was 60% of optimal functioning level.

Easing the Transition to Employment
This study also identified the types of support that foster successful integration. Satisfaction with child care arrangements was found to be highly instrumental to the success of maternal employment and increased rates of spousal participation in childcare and household work were linked to higher levels of functioning.

Research findings maintain that the equitable division of household labor is effective in achieving and maintaining the work-life balance. Employed mothers experience higher levels of satisfaction across work and family settings when their husbands and partners fairly contribute to family and household responsibilities. Although partner/spousal support facilitates the postpartum return to paid labor, sources of support need to include the work environment as well. A supportive workplace is considered to be one of the most significant factors in easing the transition to employment.

Corporations are showing an increasing level of interest in the substantial labor pool that is comprised of sequencing mothers. The skills possessed by mothers are becoming the new “hot commodity.” Corporate Project Resources, Inc. (CPRi) confirms that 94% of Fortune 500 companies have an interest in hiring sequencing mothers. CPRi states that even though businesses have historically not been very family friendly; the corporate world is shifting its perceptions of motherhood. Changes in hiring policies and the incorporation of company sponsored programs that support working mothers reflect this shift.

Evidence of Positive Change
Extended periods of parental leave have been found to be effective in female employee retention. Large companies such as Deloitte & Touche have initiated programs that allow up to five years of personal leave time. During that time period, the firm provides opportunities for updating skills and maintaining business contacts.

IBM has a similar strategy aimed at retaining female talent. Their program allows employees to take personal leave for three years. Of those who have participated, more than half declared they would have quit their jobs if the company had not offered the extended leave option.

Research shows that reduced hours and a flexible work schedule ease the conflicts between work and family demands. Johnson & Johnson has responded by offering a reduced-hour program. Since the program’s inception, the company has seen a significant increase in employee dedication and productivity. Ernst & Young has achieved similar results. Their People First Policy, which offers benefits such as flexible work schedules, has successfully reversed the previous high turnover rate of female employees.

The composition of the labor force is changing with the steady increase in women’s participation. Currently, 58% of college graduates are women and women are awarded approximately half of all professional and graduate degrees. Within the next ten years, the number of men earning these degrees is expected to increase by only 1.3% while the predicted increase for women is 16%. Meeting the needs of this changing workforce requires adjustments, not only at the organizational level, but at legislative and societal levels.

Legislative Change
As women overcome the status of being underrepresented in the workforce, a corresponding accommodation of working mothers’ needs is imperative. Family-friendly policies should be federal requirements and not a sporadically offered “perk.” The United States is currently far from the labor policy forefront when it comes to parenthood. Most developed countries have addressed the work-family conflict with extended and paid periods of parental leave. The United States is one of few countries that does not provide paid parental leave.

Discrimination against childbearing women in the workplace is rampant. Considering the noted rise in the number of recorded discrimination cases, it is evident that more effective legislative engagement is required. Discrimination laws need to be more stringently enforced in order to protect the rights of working mothers.

Finding satisfactory and affordable childcare is one of the greatest barriers faced by American working women. Presently, the amount of government support available for childcare varies by state and there is no uniform level of accreditation required for childcare facilities. Federally subsidized childcare would alleviate work-family conflicts and lessen the financial burden incurred by securing reliable childcare arrangements.

Social Change
Perhaps the most critical change—the one that drives all the others—is the social change that occurs through women’s refusal to shape their lives to fit the confines of limiting stereotypes. It is hard to overestimate the importance of the shift in attitudes that is gradually wrought when woman after woman demonstrates simultaneous competence at both motherhood and employment. We have now passed the time when it is unusual to see a successful executive, physician, professor, or politician who is also a mother. Such women have not received the societal support they deserve, but they continue to break barriers by disconfirming stereotypes, discovering creative solutions for combining roles, and providing models for the next generation of women. Their efforts ultimately make supportive organizational and legislative changes seem simply logical, not radical. Their presence stimulates discourses that promote fairness and dismantle damaging stereotypes. These groundbreaking women are a source of hope that, some years from now, the notion of a motherhood “penalty” will be obsolete, and perhaps even sound quaint.

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Sofia Nelson is a graduate student in Experimental Psychology at Radford University, Virginia.

Hilary M. Lips is a professor of psychology, chair of the Psychology Department, and director of the Center for Gender Studies at Radford University. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Lips is the author of A New Psychology of Women: Gender, Culture and Ethnicity and of Sex and Gender: An Introduction, as well as the award-winning Women, Men and Power. Her work has been published in a number of professional journals, and she is a frequent speaker on topics related to women, power, and achievement.

To learn more about the gender wage gap, visit this section of the Center for Gender Studies website.

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