The “Child Penalty”: Punishing Those Who Have Children?
Those who want to return to work after the birth of a child often experience their own family situation as an obstacle – the so-called child penalty. TUM Campus Heilbronn wants to promote discourse between companies and families anew.
Balancing child and career: anyone who masters this task deserves an accolade – especially in our meritocracy. Prof. Philipp Lergetporer from the Global Center for Family Enterprise (GCFE) at the TUM Campus Heilbronn sees a distorted picture here that could have an influence on employers’ decisions: “Compared to fathers, mothers are significantly more likely to have childcare responsibilities, which can also affect work processes in the company.” While almost all fathers work full-time, a particular lack of childcare options ensures that two-thirds of working mothers resort to part-time options. But even in the application process for relevant jobs, women with children are often at a disadvantage.
Employers Resist Part-Time Positions
Part-time positions are not particularly popular in many companies. When a full-time position is split between two part-time positions, there are double non-wage costs. Employers also fear a poorer workflow that could result from the lack of coordination between the two positions. If both job-sharers are parents, it is also difficult to staff the afternoon hours, because many childcare programs are not designed to be full-day.
In Germany, 66 percent of employed mothers work part-time, but only 7 percent of fathers.
(Source: Federal Statistical Office, 2022)
What Companies Can Do
“The social norm that mothers are more likely to take a back seat in working life is unfortunately hard to change in the short term,” says Prof. Lergetporer. But for companies that create flexible offerings, there is an opportunity to take on a pioneering role and gain an advantage in the recruitment of new workers. For young people, family-friendly conditions are enormously important when choosing their employer.
Companies need to ask themselves this question: how can we help working parents master the balancing act between family and work? For Prof. Lergetporer, in addition to new working-time models, the key lies in expanding childcare options. “One important step is to make more daycare places available,” he says. However, he adds that it is crucial to make it possible for families from middle- and lower-income groups, in particular, to send their children to daycare. Up to now, these groups have been much less likely to make use of childcare services.
Many companies are prepared to face up to the problem and are introducing countermeasures. But real solutions have not yet been found. And this is reflected in the statistics. TUM Campus Heilbronn would like to help raise awareness of the issue on both sides – so that a solution-oriented discourse can be found – and so that the child penalty for working mothers will soon be a thing of the past.
