Today, it is common for many women to work and continue to do so once they become mothers. However, there is still much to talk about the issue of conciliation, something that many workers crave and for which there are still many pending points.
Recently and on the occasion of Women's Day, the results of a survey of women were published, in which they talk about their feelings about the world of work, among them, that balance between being a professional and a mother.
Conducted by the consulting firm PwC, the research was attended by 3,627 women workers from over 60 countries and who were between 28 and 40 years old. The surveys were conducted over a period of two weeks during January of this year, and the women who participated represent women working in 27 different sectors.
Of the total participants, 80% were in a relationship or were married, and 60% were already mothers. They were asked questions about their job aspirations, how they saw themselves and their abilities, as well as their opinion about the relationship between work life and motherhood.
42% of women surveyed commented that they are afraid that starting a family may negatively affect their professional career. On the other hand, 48% of women who recently became mothers commented that were overlooked when it came to advancing or growing in their work, simply by having children.
But the fact that is certainly surprising to us is that 37% of recent mothers confessed that they did not take their full maternity leave because of the pressure they felt in their jobs and because they feared that doing so could put their job position at risk.
These results indicate that In many countries there is still that belief that having children makes women less competent to continue in the workplaceWell, it is thought that once you are a mother our ability, focus or concentration as professionals look opaque or reduced.
However, other studies have shown that women with children are more productive at work, and a few months ago we shared the story of a senior Amazon executive, who claimed that motherhood had increased her labor productivity.
The research includes some testimonies of the women who participated and comment that the situation is not easy for women with family or who plan to have it. One of them, who lives and works in Germany, comments that she had received comments telling her that having children was a risk to her future, and thinks that becoming a mother would influence her career or job opportunities for any woman.
Another testimony, from a woman in Nigeria, told about how in her company they never hired married women, and those they hired, had them sign a document stipulating that they could not get married within the first two years working in that company . And yet this was not asked of men, which seemed very unfair.
Currently, that women continue to postpone motherhood because of their professional career is very common, and just a few days ago we shared in Babies and more the testimonies of three women who delayed their maternity precisely because of their work, and who, in reality, had wished to be mothers before. In them, the three agree on something: this happened because of the lack of economic stability and because of having too absorbent jobs.
Undoubtedly, the results of this investigation add to all those testimonies of thousands of women who reaffirm that there is still much to do in matters of conciliation, so that Someday we can have that desired balance between personal life and work.
