Avoiding the Mommy Tax
"No, there was no negative feedback or suggestions for improvement. We just think you need a little more time at level."
Those words were the death knell for my career in Big 4 Consulting, uttered while I was on maternity leave with my first baby and after I'd just spent a year working my butt off (and traveling back and forth to client sites while heavily pregnant) for a much deserved promotion.
The Invisible “Mommy Tax”
What they really meant was "We're not sure if you're going to be committed to this job after you come back from leave so we want to wait and see before giving you the promotion."
If I wasn't un-committed before, I sure was now. You'd better believe the first thing I did on coming back to work was start looking for another job.
What is the Impact to Career Moms?
Why do employers do this? For a host of reasons, and I imagine they even feel some of those are justified. But the net result, over a decades long career, is something called the "mommy tax." Delays for working moms in getting the promotion, or the pay raise, or the opportunity for growth have effects that compound heavily over the lifetime of a career and result in less pay, fewer female leaders, and higher attrition rates from the workforce entirely.
My solution, while not novel, ended up being a good choice for me. I got a pay raise that matched where I would have been after my promotion, a gig with no travel, and some great chances to expand my professional experience.
Corporate Moms Pay a Heavy Price
Two years later, though, it was the same story. "Well you were on leave for 5 months of the year, so how much has really changed since your last evaluation?" I thought hard about putting in the effort to demonstrate how I'd grown, killing myself for a promotion I knew I deserved with 2 kids at home now, and I decided…. time to leave Consulting. This time for a 100% remote gig with a great title and salary above where my promotion would have landed me anyway.
How Can We Change Things for Future Professional Moms?
I do hope this will be my forever company, and I see no reason to "hop" again. I'm just saying, to my fellow career moms, society will continue to do this as long as we tolerate it. If you know your worth and your employer won't recognize it … move on. Busy moms don’t have time to sit around waiting for someone (usually a man or childless woman) to decide when we're good enough. If you're a career-minded mom, go get what you're worth. A new employer doesn't know or care if you took time off for leave. It's not that you're hiding anything, they're just looking at your skills and expertise and deciding your value with fresh eyes. It's the fastest way to recover those pay gaps and delays in advancement that could ultimately hold you back from achieving your goals and dreams.
I’m Here to Help
If you need help or aren't sure where to start, I coach busy corporate moms on reaching their career goals. You can set up a free chat with me at: www.hirethismom.com/get-started.
