It is unfortunate, but only being a woman of child-bearing age is an impediment in the workplace. According to the Fertility and Work History study of women in Spain, 76.4% of working mothers under 35 have had work problems related to their maternity.
It is too high a percentage that indicates that something must change in society. That women have children is, in addition to a right that we should freely choose, a social need. That is why I find it extremely worrying that there are so many obstacles to reconcile motherhood with professional life away from home.
To prepare the study, a team composed of experts from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Complutense Universities of Madrid and Sapienza in Rome conducted a survey of 10,000 workers.
The greatest discrimination is suffered by women under 35, the age at which most get pregnant, but in other age groups the situation is also very worrying. 69.9% of women aged 35 to 49 years are discriminated against, 65.6% of women aged 50 to 64 and 66.2% of those aged 65 to 74.
The survey, which reflects what we see on a daily basis with friends and family, shows that the family reconciliation policy in Spain is a true failure, an underdeveloped system that as it works implies serious social consequences.
Given the panorama, fewer and fewer women want to become a mother and those who do are faced with the dilemma of choosing between being a mother and their professional life or become true balancers between motherhood and the profession, having to pull a very heavy car and rise.
Flexibility of schedules and a change of business mentality are the pillars of the change so that being a mother and worker can one day be compatible.
