South Africa and after three years of academic research, countless hours of interviews with working mothers at varying stages of their careers and three years of personal experience as a full time working mother, I have learned two things: 1) the maternal wall really does exist; and 2) it takes a village to ‘raise’ a successful working mother.
Maternal Wall
There is growing research in support of the theory that working mothers experience a different form of bias and stereotyping that is distinguishable from the better documented glass ceiling bias. As far back as 1989, theories were posited that made a distinction between women who prioritised their careers over having a family and thereby had the same or similar chance as their male colleagues for promotion, and those women who were more family oriented and could add value to the organisation at middle management levels. Research shows that working mothers find themselves at a unique disadvantage: female professionals who are also parents are perceived to be less competent than their childless female counterparts and people are less likely to employ, promote or invest in educating working mothers than male candidates or childless candidates. Professor Joan Williams coined the term “maternal wall” in reference to the barriers that working mothers face in their careers. It is her opinion that most women will never even come close to the glass ceiling, because the maternal wall will have derailed their climb up the corporate ladder long beforehand. It is very difficult for a working mother in particular, to behave as the so-called “ideal employee” would. The ideal employee is able to work overtime, but a working mother’s ability to stay at the office late is impeded by her presumed responsibility to care for her children in the evening. The ideal employee does not have extended periods of interruption of service due to pregnancy and maternity leave. These presumptions are so entrenched in our sub-conscious that they even present themselves in well-meaning managers who deliberately choose not to consider mothers for positions that have travel or overtime commitments, and in doing so, consider themselves to be empathetic and considerate of the working mother’s circumstances. In no way do they regard their decisions as biased or discriminatory. What is frightening is that these perceptions are not only limited to the perceptions that colleagues and employers may have in respect of working mothers, but working mothers have assimilated them and to a certain degree hold the same perceptions of themselves. Prior to having children, the women in my study identified that having children too early on could be detrimental to their career. Post-partum the perception shifted from a timing concern to a general belief that having children at all, was detrimental to a woman’s career. It is interesting that in a country like South Africa, where there is significant legislative support for working mothers, such as mandatory maternity leave, financial support from the State during maternity leave and progressive labour and empowerment laws directed at leveling
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