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Children can harm your career

— 3 December 2009 —

Two pieces of research revealed in the last week have revealed what many women feared in the first place: that having a child can prove harmful to your career.

A survey published in the UK by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) claimed that 32% of women responded that their chances of promotion had reduced, and the same number of women added that their relationship with their manager had deteriorated.

Equally, it pointed out that women are being refused flexible working requests, with only 1 in 6 women receiving a favourable response.

Research from Sweden has found a correlation between the amount of maternity leave taken in each country with the number of women in managerial roles. In Sweden itself, for example, where women are entitled to take 60 weeks' paid leave, just 31.6% of managers are female. American women are not entitled to paid leave, and 42.7% of managers in the states are women.

Magnus Henrekson, who heads up the research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm, said "the more generous you are, the fewer women you are likely to see at the very top".

The study asserted that "employers assume time off means women are not as committed to their jobs as those without children".

In Britain, Harriet Harman's plan to increase paid leave entitlement is opposed by many even in her own party, who claim that existing maternity leave is already generous enough, and any further increases could result in womens' career prospects being damaged even more.

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