Summary
Highlights
Motherhood can be a challenging career move for women, leading to a significant loss of income. Studies show women lose 60% of their income in the first 10 years after childbirth. This trend is observed globally, where a gender pay gap appears when workers reach their 20s and mid-30s, often coinciding with women having children. If women stay in the workforce, they may be perceived as less competent; if they leave, they miss out on career opportunities and face difficulties being rehired.
When mothers return to the workforce, they often face lower-level positions and receive less pay than their male counterparts, widening the gap over time. A study across 134 countries found that after the birth of the first child, 24% of women leave the workforce in the first year, with 15% still absent a decade later. This significantly contributes to the global gender pay gap, with women's labor force participation at 52% compared to 95% for men between ages 25 and 54.
Governments worldwide are attempting to combat the motherhood penalty through reforms like childcare subsidies and tax exemptions, as seen in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Britain, Canada, Japan, and India. While these efforts are steps in the right direction, government policies alone are insufficient. There is a critical need for a change in mentality both in workplaces and homes, fostering greater equality in shared responsibilities between men and women.
Although men have started contributing more at home, they still spend only about a third of the time women do on unpaid work. This imbalance means women continue to shoulder a disproportionate amount of unpaid labor while being expected to excel in both their professional lives and childcare. The prevailing societal expectation for women is to 'work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work,' which perpetuates the motherhood penalty until this dynamic changes.