Did having a baby affect your career?

[Onion2010]

Hi, I'm currently undertaking a dissertation for a Masters qualification in Personnel and Development. It will be looking at the treatment women have received from their employers whilst pregnant, and during and after maternty leave. It will also try to identify whether having children affects career progression. I'd be grateful to anyone willing to share their experiences, whether good or bad. Could you also indicate what sector your employer operates in (public / private sector, charity, etc). No company names necessary. Thanks in advance.

I was extremely lucky in my previous job as my Boss was extremely family friendly and allowed people to work part time and still manage teams. I was promoted to a managerial role there part time a couple of months after returning from mat leave. I don't think I would have been able to go any higher part time however.

Unfortunately my previous employer closed the office and made everyone redundant. The only person who managed to find another part time role elsewhere had to take a demotion and significant pay cut to do that though. Everyone else had to go back full time to remain at the same level.

I'm about to start a new full time job in August, with the hope that I can request part time working after 6 months. I have taken essentially a demotion as it is not a management role and a slight pay cut. If i didn't have kids i would have been looking for another management role and a pay rise on moving jobs, so having kids has definitely affected my career.

Has really affected my career. Before I left for my first maternity leave I was golden girl, had just been promoted, lots of praise etc.

Came back from first mat leave on a 4-day-week to find my maternity cover had basically done nothing, and as a result I had very few projects left to work on. Set about trying to build up my work again like a mad thing, but I was 8 weeks pregnant when I returned, and they were openly unimpressed about this. My boss said on several occasions that the MD (a woman with 2 kids!) hated people getting pregnant, that she would have to break the news to her when she was in a good mood etc. Four months later they told me they wouldn't be covering my second maternity leave, and then two weeks after that they suddenly summoned me and made me redundant - the only person in the whole company.

By then I was almost seven months pregnant. I think a lawyer would have had a field day with this treatment, but as I was intending to not return from second mat leave anyway, it was much, much better financially for me to be made redundant, so I accepted it (though as an ambitious and hard working person it really, really stung, and I know it has wrecked that career.) Am now building a new freelance career in an area that I loved but didn't have the guts to go for before, so hopefully it will all work out in the end - though juggling freelance and new baby is v tricky.

I haven't had a child yet and yet the fact that I want to in the future is already affecting my career.

I know that my current job (city lawyer) is unlikely to be compatible with childcare so I am not actively pushing for promotion here (which I would be if I didn't want children) and am looking around at other options. Many of my female colleagues are doing the same.

How many men do this, I wonder.

It affected mine. My boss was really pissed off that I was pregnant, was extrememly intolerant of my appointments/any time off I had, employed a man to cover my maternity leave and then downgraded my role when I returned. I did sue him though, and won, but it has left me job and reference-less.

minipie, you are right to assume that being a city lawyer is incompatible with being a mother. There is a reason why there are so few female partners.

I used to be a solicitor in a large global law firm and know that one of the partners would 'never employ women if he didn't have to since they all go off and have babies anyway'

Marvellous innit. Mind you I did threaten with a claim for unfair dismissal when they made me 'redundant' which upped my pay off to double what they had offered.

Private sector, senior consultant level.

Did having lo affect my career, a month ago I would have said no, but this last month I have discovered I earn less than 50% of what my male colleagues earn ever though I am more qualified. I am the only member of staff who is not given flexible working (despite having asked for it, was told it could not be offered as I didn't do "that sort of job") And have now found that my manager will not book me onto any customer work, and instead fills my diary with mundane admin tasks which he calls "challenging projects", (even though I am one of the highest qualified consultant of our team) which means I don't earn any commision which I depserately need as dh is a sahd.

Wouldn't change having lo for the world, but am job hunting to find a fairer employer.

Private Sector, Senior Management Level.

I was a company director when I had my 2 DC taking 3 months off for each, then back to working full time with a nanny working 8-6.
I can honestly say it did not affect my position or career at all.

With the other directors I sold the business with the intention of a career change (DC were 8+) however agreed to stay on for a period. Like the position so much that I have negotiated a good deal to stay on. Still work full time but don't have the responsibilities (financial) of being a Director.
My current directors are flexible with my hours however as I work around 50 hours a week they should be.

The only difference I believe in my life that not having children would mean is I might have opted to buy the other directors out when we sold our business as I was the only one interested in carrying on. With hindsight this would have been a very foolish decision so I have to be grateful for my children

Hi, I found out yesterday that I am (probably) being made redundant. I have worked as a Manager in FS marketing for 5 years. Following the birth of my son 4 years ago, I took 9 months mat leave then returned to work 3 days a week. My DD was born last year and after 13 months off I returned to work 5 weeks ago. In April this year, whilst on mat leave, I was advised that the structure of my area was changing and I, along with the majority of my colleagues, had to apply for new roles within the new structure and I was given 2 weeks to complete very lengthy assessment forms, with little support from work. The forms were assessed by someone who joined while I was on maternity leave and who I hadn't met until I returned to work. I was told yesterday by her that my application was unsuccessful (for a role almost identical to my current role) and I am now in a redeployment pool. I feel that having nearly 2 years off on mat leave, and only working part-time in the last 4 years has left me with a lower level of skills compared to the majority of colleagues who are working full-time and haven't been off and this has led to me not being selected for a role.

Hi, I'm a social worker and had a 6 yr career break and for the last two yrs i've been working out of hours in the voluntary sector. When I applied for a social work post recently I wasn't even shortlisted - even though the panel said my application was strong and there was nothing wrong with it and I met all the criteria - because I had had a career break (there opening line when I rang for feedback was"am I right in thinking you've had a career break".

Public Sector - all women coming back (incl me)have asked for flexible working, which has meant little promotion opportunity. We have been told that we have to work at least 4 days a week to be eligible for a promotion and at least 3 days a week if wanting to do some specialist work. If less it is only generic work on offer. Most women despite being very talented at the job, choose family above work, hence it affects their possibility for career promotion.

Yes, after baby 1 a colleague started victimising me. I was a manager in a well known private company, only woman in team. When I unexpectedly got pregnant with baby 2, I had a new boss who supported the person in my team who had been talking about me. He didn't like women either. He told people he'd "Get rid of me". And he did. As soon as I went on mat leave at 8.5 months pregnant and came in for a KIT meeting a week later, he announced a new structure for the team where all my reports were removed. I came back 10 weeks later, life got worse and worse. Was got rid of and am waiting for the employment tribunal. I have managed to contract and finally secure another job but the whole experience has sickened me.

To the City lawyers, do you think that being a City lawyer is fundamentally incompatible with motherhood, or do you think that employers make it unnecessarily difficult when in fact they could be more accommodating? I think it's a really tricky dilemma, but it always seems to me that in transactional practice areas there's only so much to be done to to make the situation substantially better?

Senior Management. FTSE 50 company.

I had DD in November 2008. Took 7 months' maternity leave (intended to take 6 months but DD was overdue so was twiddling my thums for first 5 weeks!).

I found a competent interim for my boss to cover my role whilst I was on leave. Returned to work in May last year 4 days a week and found that that the organisation had 'sealed' behind me whilst I was off. Relationships I'd worked hard at had disappeared and in my boss' eyes I'd gone from being a star performer to someone he didn't rate. He also said that my job had changed in the interim and he didn't think I was up to the new job. He effectively cut me out of the loop on most things and has been a total twunt.

I'm the only breadwinner as DH doesn't work and it's been a tough 12+ months. I resigned from my job last week as I've found a great new role working for someone who I respect. The downside is it's a full time role. I could have claimed constructive dismissal but I chose not to as the damage to my future career (and earnings potential) would have been too great.

My current boss is the Group HR Director. Says it all really!

More than happy to discuss in more detail by CAT.

thmBs woman, thumBs

I work for a national charity. I have decided not to go back, as I would rather spend my days with DD and get a crappy p/t job. (In my current job flexible hours would not be practicable at all, and now that I have DD I can't put in the time required outside of work, in order to progress)

Yes and no. I took my mat leave (and had a great deal) and have worked part time (now full time again to meet increased nursery costs) and had no problems with all of this. Have been approved to work full time from home with no fuss. And was given speical leave with pay last summer as both DD and DH got swine flu and were seriously ill. Again without a problem.

But I'm on the "mummy" track, doing an interesting job, but offers little challange or development. Unlikely to get promotion as can't compete with the sexy jobs invovling 18hour days, loads of travel etc etc. Also want to go back part time when it is afforable and only about 20% of jobs at work will even consider a part time person.

I work for the civil service.

Yes, I was essentially told by my boss that he shouldn't be telling me this but I wasn't going to get my promotion because I was pregnant - HIS boss's decision. Private sector. If I'd pursued it i'd have got him into trouble for telling me, so I didn't...

Interesting discussion on Mumsnet re children affecting careers but this only affecting mothers. I think this affected me well before I had children. I chose a job which meant having children was possible and only took off one week when having both babies but this was a teaching job at the Inns of Court School of Law. I managed to have both babies in the long summer break. That was 1979 - 1982 and it was still hard. My husband was also very ill during that period and in bed for 6 months, my parents were very elderly and our older son nearly died of asthma. In the end I gave up work.
I advise all young women to try to be in control of their own careers rather than being employed but working still isn't easy - but then nor is staying at home.
Our sons are now super dads and do a lot but life is still hard for their working wives.
There is still a perception that looking after children isn't 'work' which is absolute rubbish! Working parents need tax breaks for childcare at the very least. There are such difficulties if your child is not well. Life is so unpredictable when they are ill.
However, employers now just have to be much more understanding and a lot are thank goodness. But I hate it when politicians tell women they must work because it all depends on the health of the children.