What are we having this liberty for? We have this liberty to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights. – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Becoming a mother can be exciting and fulfilling, but motherhood is ‘costly’ to women’s careers. Most of the women have gone through this discriminatory experience, and so have I. Bearing children reduces women’s labour force participation, but this effect is strongest when women are younger and planning or entering the pregnancy and maternity phase. Women who, as a result of having or planning to have children, either cut short their education or drop out of the labour force for an extended period.
Some are forced to cut back and resort to part-time employment and choose occupations that are considered more family-friendly. They are compelled to devote less effort on the job or pass up promotions because of time or locational constraints. Finally, they end up achieving less than childless women who stay on track with full-time employment and take advantage of opportunities for training and career advancement.
Especially if a woman chooses to work post-pregnancy, the break she takes as maternity leave impacts her promotion, wage hike and thus progression. Often, leadership forgets that promotions and wage hikes are acknowledgements of good performance in the past year. It conveniently lets slip the fact that maternity leave is as per the policy and should not act as a hindrance in any form towards career progression.
The main argument from the industry is that having and raising children interferes with the accumulation of human capital and hence the level of productivity, which then translates into lower wages. Many in leadership also have this misbelief that mothers are less competent or committed to their jobs than childless women.
Mothers also suffer a growing disadvantage over time, if their lack of early investment in human capital and discontinuity in work experience keep them out of higher-paying occupations. It also denies them opportunities for significant wage growth and occupational mobility later in life.
Recently, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo at the Aspen Ideas Festival mentioned, “I don’t believe women can have it all. So we pretend we have it all. Every day we have to decide on whether you are going to be a wife or a mother”. Many times women have to co-opt a lot of people to help, but it is a luxury to be able to either have the support system or afford to have help to run the house. We plan our lives meticulously so we can be decent parents and perform all our designated roles while we try all the coping mechanisms.
Women’s biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with each other – Indra Nooyi
When we have to have kids, we have to build our careers. Just as we rise towards middle management, the kids turn teenagers and need more attention. As we grow even further in our careers, our parents need us because they are ageing. Stay-at-home mothering itself is a full-time job and having a career is two full-time jobs rolled into one.
Finally, women are differentially positioned on other social statuses which can affect employment outcomes. Those who are married and have access to a husband’s sizable income may face different incentives for labour force participation and career advancement than women who are unmarried or who have low-earning husbands.
Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote ‘Why Women Still Can’t Have It All’ based on her experience. Eighteen months into her role as the first woman director of policy planning at the State Department, a prestigious position rooted in the legacy of George Kennan, she found herself in New York, attending the United Nations’ annual gathering of foreign ministers and Heads of State. During a Wednesday evening reception hosted by President and Mrs. Obama at the American Museum of Natural History, she engaged in socializing, sipping champagne, and exchanging pleasantries with foreign dignitaries.
However, amidst the glamour of the event, her thoughts were consumed by her 14-year-old son, who had recently begun eighth-grade exhibiting troubling behaviour – skipping homework, causing disruptions in class, and struggling academically, particularly in math. Throughout the summer, communication between them had dwindled, and she felt a growing sense of distance. Recalling urgent phone calls from the previous spring that necessitated her immediate return from Washington, D.C. to Princeton, New Jersey, where her son resided, she reflected on the sacrifices made by her husband, who diligently supported her career while caring for their children during the week. A chance encounter with a colleague at the event, a senior figure in the White House with two sons of similar ages, prompted her to express her struggles with balancing work and family. She confided in her colleague about the difficulty of being away from her son when he needed her most.
A similar experience was shared by Indira Nooyi, PepsiCo Chair & CEO speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival this week, Nooyi said that women “cannot have it all,” and that “the biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with one another. Total and complete conflict”, in a conference, wherein she highlighted how her daughter was literally raised under her desk as she continued to work.
If this is the state of ‘powerful’ women of our generation, one can imagine the turmoil of other women struggling to ‘balance’ their careers and families.
References and links for further reading:
- ‘Why Women Still Can’t Have It All’ by Anne-Marie Slaughter
3. ‘Women and Men in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity’ by Cary Funk and Kim Parker
4. ‘Gender Bias in Hiring: What We Know and How to Change It’ by Lauren A. Rivera
5. ‘Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Structural, Cultural, and Organizational Barriers Preventing Women from Achieving Senior and Executive Positions’ by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4041155/
8. https://fortune.com/recommends/banking/the-motherhood-penalty/
About the author
Kavitha Pandian
Kavitha Pandian is working in an IT company in the USA as a practice manager. She runs many initiatives including the Save Tamilnadu Farmer, Our Village Our Responsibility, and Adopt a Village and extends financial support and scholarship to underprivileged children for education, and betterment of rural life and has supported the people of Tamil Nadu during major natural disasters including Gaja and Covid. She has received many awards including ‘The Women Achievers Award’ by FeTNA, USA, in 2022. She also was felicitated by the District Collector, Virudhunagar during the 75th Independence Day celebrations, 2022, for her work towards infrastructure.
