With the high career costs associated with motherhood, and in a challenging economy, more young women are choosing to put work ahead of love and family.
According to a recent survey of 1,000 American working mothers by online resume builder Zety, 76% have been explicitly advised to delay having children until they’re more established in their careers, and 57% postponed motherhood for that reason.
“I hate that advice, because we should be living in a world where no matter what you’re doing outside of work, you should be able to achieve your career goals,” says Zety career expert Jasmine Escalera. “Yes, it is sound advice, but it’s advice people feel they need to give because of the work culture we have here in the United States.”
The study found that working moms face a slew of career challenges that prevent them from achieving their career potential while starting a family.
For example, 84% said their pregnancy was seen as an inconvenience at work, and 81% were asked to return from maternity leave early. The vast majority, 87%, say that becoming a mother negatively impacted their careers. Furthermore, 59% say it altered their career path and 31% say it inspired them to find a job with more flexibility or reduced hours.
Half also chose not to have more than one child due to the work challenges they confronted having their first, and another 37% delayed having more children for the same reason.
“For women in particular, becoming pregnant, having children, starting a family significantly negatively impacts their careers,” Escalera says. “The data we saw was incredibly staggering in terms of how women are implicitly—and in many cases explicitly—being told that being a mom is going to negatively impact them in the workplace, and they have to choose one.”
