Proving, Yet Again, You're Just As Dedicated
If employers want to retain talent, they need to build cultures that truly support mothers without penalizing ambition.
A new survey of almost 900 women in the U.S. provides evidence of the extent to which mothers are still being discriminated against in the workplace—both before and after having a baby.
The survey conducted by the career website Zety found that 89% of respondents had been asked about parental status during job interviews or performance reviews, while 87% said that they had missed promotions or opportunities because they had become a parent.
Similar proportions said that they had been asked to return to work early or adjust their maternity leave for their employer’s benefit (81%) and feared telling their boss they were pregnant due to job security concerns (77%).
More than half of those questioned—59%—said that they had changed industries entirely when they became a parent, and 57% said they had delayed having children because of their career.
“Too often, working mothers are forced to prove they’re just as dedicated as their child-free peers, despite juggling more responsibilities,” commented Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at Zety. “If employers want to retain talented women, they can’t just offer parental leave—they need to build cultures that truly support motherhood without penalizing ambition.”
Zety surveyed a total of 899 mothers of children below the age of 18 living in the U.S. and working in the paid labor market.
