The ‘motherhood penalty’ is greater for some women

Despite the efforts of governments and employers in recent years to boost the number of women in the workforce, research shows taking time out of work to care for young children remains a very gendered activity. Women not only take more parental leave, they experience reduced work hours and longer-term withdrawal from employment than men.

That’s not to say progress on re-balancing women’s participation in paid and unpaid work hasn’t happened. Of mothers of a child aged under one year, the proportion employed almost doubled from 30% to 57% between 1991 and 2021. Almost all of this increase was explained by the proportion of mothers employed but away from work, which rose from 5% in 1991 to 32% in 2021 – showing the positive impact of measures like paid parental leave and flexible work arrangements.  

So, while in the early 1990s many women having a baby would simply have had to give up their job, many now can remain employed throughout the first year of their child’s life – whether they choose to return to the workplace or not. We can’t know from the available data whether (and for how long) mothers would rather stay home with their baby, or return to work – but having a choice, that isn’t driven by financial imperatives and structural inequalities, is a positive development.

But is access to these arrangements across all women fair and equal? Are some more likely to benefit than others? At the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), we recently released a report examining the types of jobs women were in before and after the birth of a child, as well as which new mothers return to work sooner – to further build the evidence base to inform policies on gender equality, income support and industrial relations.

Our research shows mothers with higher education, in a couple relationship, and with fewer children were more likely to be employed before the birth of their child. Conversely, single mothers, those with poor English language proficiency, those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and those with a disability were less likely to be employed before the birth. Broader issues like financial security were also found to be relevant, with partnered mothers less likely to be employed if their partner had a low income.

Some of this isn’t overly surprising. But what is critical here is that, of those women who were employed, the same personal and family characteristics – that is, level of higher education, language proficiency and having a disability or not, among other factors – predicted whether a mother would be back at work versus on leave after the birth of their child. So mothers more likely to experience barriers to employment face compound disadvantage. This is likely to be because they lack an employer relationship before and after motherhood, so the usual measures for helping new mothers return to work don't reach them. They are also more likely to experience barriers to gaining the kinds of jobs that offer employer-funded parental leave.  

This means, assuming they can remain employed, they are likely to move to the Australian Government’s paid parental leave sooner, and then need to return to work earlier, than mothers with employer-funded parental leave – whether they are ready or not.

In here lies the big signal to governments and employers – to ensure more inclusive supports for mothers in key equity groups. Paid parental leave, especially employer-funded schemes, are important for everyone – but particularly for women in industries like retail, hospitality and other service sectors who are more likely to not be employed or working shortly after birth, indicating less access to paid leave and more precarious job conditions.

The impacts of this issue are significant for gender equality. As well as very gendered patterns of leave-taking and employment, a 2024 AIFS report reveals in 54% of couple families with children under 18, looking after children is always or usually done by the mother, compared to just 5% in which it is always or usually done by the father. In 78% of couple families the ‘mental load’ is always or usually carried by the mother.

If we are serious about addressing gender inequality, we need more than just policy tweaks. We need a much bigger on-ramp for ensuring equitable access to paid parental leave and flexible work arrangements – especially for low-income and marginalised families. This goes to reducing barriers to employment for women, encouraging employers to offer flexible, family-friendly work environments and reviewing the impact of the latest changes to parental leave pay on families in all their different forms.

And, until caregiving is more equally shared, women will continue to bear the brunt of the economic consequences of parenthood.

Our report reminds us that while more mothers are staying connected to the workforce when they have a child, the path is far from equal. If we truly value the role of mothers in our society, we must ensure that their choices are not dictated by structural disadvantage or unduly constrained by financial necessity. Because when mothers thrive, families thrive too.