Maternity blues

I posted earlier about the biases we face in moving forwards in our careers. Today's one is one I've witnessed very recently and to be honest it blows my mind that this is still a thing!

I'm talking about Maternity Bias.

This is an assumption that as mothers we are less committed and/or less competent. People assume that this 'lifestyle choice' means we are not interested in a career and that we don't want challenging projects or a big work trip.

This can mean mothers are given fewer career building opportunities. It can also mean we feel like we need to work harder and put in more time to prove how serious we are.

Interestingly when men have children their careers are more likely to take off  Although that reverses if they take time off for 'family' reasons.

Women can fall into this trap and damage their own careers. Studies have shown that when a woman is pregnant they are less likely to apply for promotion. In some cases, they won’t apply even when they’re thinking of getting pregnant!

Have you faced Maternity Bias in your career? Did you step back rather than lean in when you were pregnant?