More than 7,000 women from seven countries were asked about the impact of motherhood on their work in beauty brand Avon’s “Global Progress for Women” survey, reported by Stylist magazine.

A third of the women (34 per cent) said that their family life, and more specifically childcare, has had a negative impact on their career advancement. And the underlying reason is that women often find it difficult to balance work and family responsibilities. 

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Although many governments are extending paternity leaves to encourage fathers’ involvement in the home, mothers, on average, still tend to be more involved in childcare and education in many parts of the world. This phenomenon is linked to the persistent idea of a natural maternal instinct and the idea that females are born to be mothers.

As a result of pressure on women’s time combined with societal pressures, women often choose to reduce or stop their professional activity when they have a child. 

However, more flexible approaches to how work is organised could help them to more effectively balance their family and professional lives.

While flexibility has become a key value in many companies since the Covid pandemic, the women interviewed by Avon found inequalities in practice. For example, 41 per cent of women said it was more difficult for them to work flexibly than their male counterparts.