The motherhood penalty begins even before we even get around to having children, it seems.
According to a new study, researchers found that particularly when it comes to part-time work, women are penalized even before they get pregnant.
Infuriating? I know.
In a recent large-scale study, published in Labour Economics researchers found evidence of fertility discrimination in hiring practises in both Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where they found that younger, married women with no children were less likely to be hired for part-time postion that women who were already mums. Why? Because employers viewed the childfree women as ‘pregnancy risks’ and were thus less likely to want to hire them.
Yes, really.
It is almost the year 2020, and still employers are less likely to hire a women if they think she might – gasp – end up wanting to have a child in the near future.
In fact, the European researchers found that when it comes to applying to part-time jobs, women who have two school-age children are the most likely to get an interview, while married women who don’t have kids have the lowest callback rates.
Similar studies have shown similar results elsewhere too. In a UK study last year, researchers found that as many as 28 percent of managers would be less likely to hire someone who was recently married or engaged – out of fear she might end up wanting to start a family soon.
What makes this study even more sad, really, is that part time jobs are to so many of us the more family-friendly option. With childcare cost being as astronomical as they are, many can’t afford to return to work full-time, or simply find they can’t manage a full-time job with also raising a young family.
The researchers behind that study of part-time job applicants were also surprised to see that potential fertility put candidates at such a disadvantage even when applying in a category noted for being family-friendly.
The thing is – it is the employers that are missing out, it would seem. According to a report by multinational firm Ernst & Young “women in flexible roles (part-time, contract or casual) appear to be the most productive members of our workforce.” What does that mean? it means that women employed only part-time often produce full-time results.
Too bad then for employers, missing out on a hard-working, efficient part-time employee simply because she may possibly one day decide to have a baby.
