Mommy Track Misery
Though we’re based in Denver, the nature of my work requires me to spend significant amounts of time on the road. It’s not often that I read The Denver Post with my morning coffee, but this past Thursday, February 16th, was a rare exception to the rule. Early that morning I scanned “Left Behind, Women with Kids Need Not Apply?” by Jenny Deam.
Deam writes about a recent Cornell University study, which concludes that women with children are less likely to get hired and are paid less in starting salaries than similarly qualified fathers or women without children. The disparities are not minor. Evaluators of nearly identical resumes said they would hire non-mothers 84 percent of the time, while they would hire mothers 47 percent of the time. The starting salaries of the working mothers were typically $11,000 less than similarly qualified non-mothers.
Deam quotes a human resources director and mother of five who describes the environment as “Neanderthalville all over again.” The article then offers a series of job interview tips for mothers, including “avoid comment on marriage and children.”
If ever there was a topic due for a fierce conversation, this is it. In the work I’ve undertaken with law firms and corporations, I’ve found most are absolutely dependent on their most talented employees—Mommys, Daddys and everyone else in between. They are also very serious businesses whose work must be done exceedingly well and on deadline
All participants in this conversation need to ask themselves some critical questions. Businesses must ask themselves whether, consciously or not, they have concluded that working mothers as a group are less desirable employees. And working parents must inquire how businesses can fairly respond to the unique needs of workers with children as well as the competing needs of their other employees.
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