Motherhood and Career: Invisible Work, Visible Consequences

Motherhood significantly shapes women’s professional trajectories—often in ways that remain invisible and systematically unaddressed. The motherhood penalty, gender pay gap, mental load, and invisible labor influence career choices, earning potential, promotions, and women’s long-term economic security. Who is the CEO at home, and who is the project manager—and why is this work so rarely recognized?

This lecture explores how motherhood changes perceptions of women’s competence, availability, and ambition, what real opportunities and obstacles working mothers (especially those in leadership roles) face both at work and at home, and raises a crucial question: is the career (under)achievement of mothers—and their mental and physical well-being—a personal issue, or a systemic one?

Through research, real-life examples, and a psychological perspective, the lecture offers guidance on creating fairer and more sustainable workplaces where motherhood is not an obstacle, but an integral part of women’s professional and life experience—along with the necessary transformation of “Family Ltd.”