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The modern celebration of Mother’s Day began in the US in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson declared it a national holiday. As we approach this date in 2023, more than 100 years later, Team JTC was inspired to investigate what challenges working moms face today. I am keen to share the results of that research with you here, but it also made us ask a very important question: how often do we consider working moms we are thinking about workplace representation? What follows may remind us all to increasingly embrace intersectionality as an essential aspect of gender diversity, as this is an excellent example.

Actually, the academic research literature has acknowledged for decades that moms experience disadvantages in earnings and careers compared with women without children. This so-called “motherhood penalty” unfortunately persists in the US, and the term captures how having children leads to a significant drop in labor market participation and earnings for women, but not for men. The situation is compounded by the fact that women who reenter the workforce after taking a career break for any reason (including childcare) tend to then face a downward trajectory.

What are some of the reasons for these continuing challenges? I want to highlight three key areas where we should be focusing our attention.

1. The pandemic disproportionately affected women:

It is important to appreciate the scale of the impact on working women, especially mothers. Among all those who were out of work in April 2020 due to COVID-19, 80% were women, and that is a lot of people: almost 12 million women left their jobs early in the pandemic. Later that year, McKinsey found that considerably more working women than men were contemplating downshifting or leaving work altogether, especially those with children under 10 years old, and notably more so than women without children. And while many childcare centers closed during the lockdowns, you might be surprised to learn that nearly 9,000 never reopened and had closed permanently by March 2021, increasing the care burden on all working parents.

2. Pregnancy can lead to women being forced out of work:

Moms also face more direct forms of discrimination in the workplace, especially pregnant women and those with young children. In 2019, a woman in Alabama lost her job after informing her boss that she required two weeks of additional leave for physical therapy to treat an injury that occurred when she gave birth. Other pregnant and postpartum women have reportedly been pressured to leave their jobs when asking for reasonable temporary accommodations. In response to this worrying trend, the new federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act comes into force on June 27 this year, and gives these workers the same legal right to reasonable accommodations that already applies to people with disabilities.

The true extent of pregnancy discrimination is difficult to judge, and Elizabeth Gedmark, Vice President of A Better Balance—the nonprofit organization that led the campaign for the new Act—has also highlighted how women of color are disproportionately affected. While the new legislation should ensure that pregnancy and childbirth no longer come with the same risk of job loss, there may be a larger issue here: The US is the only one of the 41 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states that lacks government-mandated paid leave for new parents.

3. Women with children face hiring discrimination:

Bias against mothers persists in the job market, decades after a landmark Supreme Court decision ruled that denying employment to women on the basis of motherhood was a violation of civil rights. In an article to mark the 50-year anniversary of the case, Bloomberg Law argued that systemic bias against working mothers continues in the US. Supporting this view, a recent study led by researchers at SUNY found evidence of hiring discrimination against mothers relative to women without children or men, at both the application and interview stages. Similar findings were made across a range of occupations including professional and lower-paid jobs, and certain features in job descriptions (such as inflexible work schedules) were associated with stronger discrimination.

Reflecting on all of this as recruiters and DEI practitioners, what can we do to remedy the situation?

The good news is that organizational culture can significantly influence mothers’ career trajectories, and unsurprisingly, they particularly value flexible working, even though not all employers support it. In a survey of almost 2,000 working parents across the US, over half of women returning to work after the pandemic indicated that they would take up a paid childcare option if available, and the vast majority (88%) said that any form of childcare support (including flexible working) would make them more likely to choose an employer. There is also evidence of a need for better support in helping new moms return to work because 43% of them end up leaving their jobs, despite the majority saying they are excited to return to work while expecting.

When we think about the current situation for women with children, several clear themes emerge on how employers can support this important group. Of course, many companies are already embracing changes that will benefit working moms, but this will not only become increasingly important in helping them find suitable work, it matters for retention as well. As we approach the annual holiday where we celebrate motherhood, I hope that what I have just shared will inspire new ideas to increase representation and equity for these women in your organization.

JOIN US IN THE COMMENTS: Do you think working moms are considered enough in DEI programs? If you are a working mom yourself, did anything in this article particularly resonate with you? We would very much like to hear your thoughts and experiences on these crucial issues.

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