Parenting is a shared responsibility, but in the labor market it is often mothers who face greater exclusion and difficulties in their professional careers. Women, according to the CBOS data, fulfill more domestic and parental responsibilities. Difficulties in simultaneously performing household tasks and continuing professional work are frequent and even if the media sometimes present a mother's model of multitasking, women admit that the lack of protections on the part of employers as well as fatigue from duties is a big challenge for them. In addition, it should be remembered that in Poland we are facing a difficult demographic situation - we are an aging society - and the forecasts are not optimistic. Therefore, fertility should be a priority for politicians for the sake of future social, welfare and economic problems. According to CBOS, Polish women who declare their desire to have offspring are in the age range of 30-34 years - this is a later age than a few years ago where the range was 25-29 years. At the same time, the general intention to have offspring is also falling - compared to 2017, the percentage of adult women who completely give up having children has almost doubled.
In the report How does motherhood affect the careers of Polish women? Report on the situation of mothers in the labor market (2024) We present the results taken from a study on a sample of 1044 people from all over Poland, of whom the majority (69%) had offspring, and 61% of respondents were women. The data show, among other things, that although the vast majority of respondents agree that both parents should be equally involved in raising children, in practice caring responsibilities still fall mainly on women, which significantly affects their professional opportunities and often limits career development.
What else did the results of this study say?
- 94% of respondents believe that both parents should be equally involved in raising their children.
- Only 1% of people on parental leave are fathers - the vast majority are mothers.
- In the event of a child's illness, it is most often the mothers who stay with him at home.
- Nearly 50% of respondents believe that motherhood hinders career development.
- 62% of mothers of children aged 1-3 years are professionally active.
- For comparison: 98% of fathers of children of the same age are professionally active.
The report also includes a section dedicated to the associations mothers have with motherhood. They are often associated with difficulty; multitasking, fatigue and the desire for self-realization overlap. This shows that, despite the desire to continue working and participate in a full social life, mothers face many, often systemic, challenges.
The hidden “punishment of motherhood”
The concept of motherhood itself always suggests to us a concrete relationship between mother and child. Culturally, we are used to the fact that it is the mother who takes care of the child and this is influenced by, among other things, the biological process of birth. Unfortunately, this relationship is often fraught with a socio-emotional cost for the mother, who has to face many of the consequences of motherhood. “Punishment for motherhood” (motherhood penalty) is a concept coined and introduced into scientific debate by sociologists Jennifer Staff and Jeylan T. Mortimer. It implies the negative consequences of motherhood suffered by women combining family and professional roles. In an article written in 2023 for Social Policy, „The penalty for motherhood” in the perception of women in managerial positions Joanna Moczydłowska describes this concept more broadly and also defines it as emotional punishment. We often talk about the costs associated with the labor market, but less often about what happens at the level of feelings. The effects of motherhood are therefore not only those on a professional level, but also those of a psychological nature.
If we look at the data from the article, we will see that already in the field of professional career itself a woman encounters exclusion. Research conducted at the University of Oxford (Kahn, García-Manglano, & Bianchi, 2014) shows that childless women at the age of 25 tend to be better educated, more often professionally active, have higher incomes and work in positions of higher prestige than their peers who have previously become mothers. The analysis of women in their 20s, 30s and 40s confirms a clear trend: the more children they have, the less they are present in the labor market, earn less and occupy less prestigious professional positions. Each subsequent child is associated with a decrease in the woman's salary by about 3-6%. Women who do not have children earn on average a third more than mothers of three children and are almost twice as likely to work in professions of higher prestige. Such dependencies are also found in Poland. The data show that mothers receive lower salaries not only compared to men, but also compared to childless women of similar age, similar qualifications and in the same positions (source: rp.pl). These differences are especially pronounced in well-paid, prestigious professions. What, if so, about the situation of men who become fathers? They usually not only do not suffer financial losses, but often receive the so-called paternity bonus.
In the article we will also find the results of a pilot study conducted as part of the FAMWELL project. They reveal a growing number of women (especially in managerial positions) who are giving up motherhood, often consciously, in connection with the demands of a professional career. As many as 23% of the surveyed female managers do not have children and do not plan to have them, and of those who have decided to motherhood, the majority are limited to one or two children. More than 60% admit that they have postponed the decision to have a child due to professional development. Among mothers, the strong emotional costs of combining roles predominate - more than 70% of respondents declare chronic guilt and fatigue resulting from the constant tension between family responsibilities and work. Women often feel that they have “missed” important moments in their children's lives, and everyday life is filled with frustration, insomnia and stress, which over time develop into more serious health and emotional problems. This is important data that shows that the situation is becoming psychologically complicated; on the one hand, women want financial independence and career satisfaction, on the other hand, they are worried about their insufficient dedication to children.
17 Goals Campaign
The problems of women, mothers and employees arise from the system and culture, but the solutions that are supposed to help do not always correspond to the reality of companies. Unfortunately, the lack of solutions at the level of the organization and the favor of employers often leads to the opposite effect - women are better educated and often they are the ones who represent a lot of value for the company, or at least they should. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the “Parents at Work” initiative was created in Poland. It is designed for employers - especially those in the medium and large companies sector - and aims to support solutions that make it easier to combine work and family life. It is mainly addressed to people responsible for HR policy, CSR activities and representatives of management boards. In practice, it benefits parents employed in companies that will enter this program. The initiative responds to market needs, particularly in the context of women's limited return to work after childcare leave, increasing occupational exclusion and the need for flexible forms of employment. According to the portal kampania17celów.pl in Warsaw, as many as 1 in 5 unemployed women do not return to work after maternity leave, and a long separation from the market often leads to permanent unemployment and lack of pension security. At the same time, employers lose valuable capital - women make up the majority of people with higher education in Poland. The burden of household chores, lack of flexibility and lower salaries mean that it is women who most often give up their careers after the appearance of a child, despite the fact that they work more than men on average - even more than a month a year.
summary
Although more and more women want to combine motherhood with professional development, reality still poses many barriers, both economic and emotional. The data clearly show that systemic changes and real support from employers are necessary so that mothers do not have to choose between a child and a career. We need a work culture that not only recognises women's potential, but also actively supports it. Sources:
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