The motherhood penalty

A new study sheds light on the connection between motherhood and job loss

A NEW STUDY by Moms at Work, conducted by law firm Hudson Sinclair and with input from Western University sociologist Rachel Margolis, found that one in seven Canadian mothers was laid off, terminated or not had their contract renewed during their maternity leave between 2022 and 2023.

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It’s a finding that experts say matches the experiences they’re hearing from women in the workplace and represents a major part of the puzzle surrounding why women are leaving the workplace and experiencing lower career mobility.

“Maternity leave and the years surrounding it represent the single largest point in which women off-ramp from corporate organizations,” stated the report from Moms at Work. “The ‘Motherhood Penalty’ continues to widen the gender wage gap, reduce workforce participation and limit women’s leadership opportunities, undermining gender equity and economic growth.”

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Moms at Work attempted to sketch out what this means for the entire Canadian workforce. By their calculations, it suggested that as many as 25,000 women per year are losing work in Canada during their maternity leave, a layoff rate that is three times the general average. Another 25 per cent said that they were denied promotions. Forty per cent considered quitting when they went back.

This is a finding that may sound familiar to a lot of women in the corporate world ― whether it’s something they’ve experienced themselves or seen done to colleagues.

“Companies would say things like, ‘We really want someone who is all-in at work,’” Moms at Work founder Allison Venditti told The Globe and Mail. “These are women who are talented, committed, all of those things, and they dared to have a baby ― the thing that society is screaming at you to do. This is systemic, and it is bad.”

The Moms at Work survey argued for several policy changes it believes would help the problem. Tax credits and federal incentives to top up maternity leave would improve protections, it suggested. It also wants the government to top up the wage replacement rate from 55 per cent (under current EI rules) to 80 per cent, to reduce the cost burden of top-ups on employers.

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These are arguments that will be music to the ears of those who want to see more done to promote birthrates in Canada; the Macdonald-Laurier Institute recently made a similar recommendation to “improve income replacement schemes under EI.”

“Mothers are being laid off, denied opportunity and left unsupported during one of the most vulnerable times in their lives,” said Venditti. “The good news is that we can fix it.” Kieran Delamont