Closing the Motherhood Career Gap
While many unversed individuals might assume otherwise in this seemingly diverse age, there is still a great deal of stigma surrounding working moms and their ability to commit to high-end roles.
In fact, according to the so-called ‘motherhood penalty,’ working moms can generally expect to not only struggle more to find quality employment but also face lower wages when they do finally land a role.
Worse, the very nature of these discriminations makes them impossible to prove as employers state a range of other reasons that, while sometimes valid, rarely paint the entire, discriminatory picture.
The reasons for the often preconceived notions that prevent mothers from finding quality employment most often revolve around a range of inaccurate assumptions, including –
- An imagined lack of care
- Assumed unreliability
- Questions surrounding work ethic (yes, really!)
- And more
All of these assumptions work against mothers across the world to mean that, unless a high-end role was achieved before a woman had children, the simple label of motherhood almost entirely scuppers her ability to climb up the career ladder.
Luckily, with women now accounting for almost half of the workforce (46.8% as it stands) and female faces very slowly cropping up in boardroom environments, the tides of career change are gradually shifting ever-more in favour of the mothers who can bring undeniably worthy benefits into any operational environment.
Some sectors are, of course, further ahead in this sense than others, but one industry that’s especially flying an ever-more female flag is accounting.
With workforces across this industry now 61.7% female, in-points for mothers are especially closing the gap between parenting duties and the high-end roles that have remained frustratingly out of reach until now.
Furthermore, accounting careers offer a wide range of benefits that mothers have been crying out for for years, and we’re going to consider them in their full glory here.
Are Accounting Roles the Answer to Closing the Motherhood Career Gap?
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# 1 – Less career deliberation
Whether a woman completes her accounting training before or after her motherhood journey begins, qualifications in this area provide a satisfyingly clear-cut career path that entirely removes the deliberations and individual in-points rife with a range of other degrees.
For the sake of mothers who often have to compromise or stray from the building blocks of a career over time, this very apparent career trajectory is especially invaluable for the ability to dip in and out of a career without veering off-course or having to ‘start again’ as they might in other areas.
# 2 – Increasingly flexible opportunities
The largely computer-based operations of accountants have seen individuals in these job roles at the helm of remote working for a fair few years at this point.
Adaptations of computer-based accounting solutions that can be utilized and accessed anywhere are especially at the helm of this change, with companies like PMMC going as far as to offer software for hospitals that brings industry-changing accounting insights into even the healthcare sector from afar.
Mothers attempting to juggle home life and a high-end accounting career are guaranteed to enjoy a range of benefits from this bendable business approach, bringing a work-life balance within easy reach that means women will finally stop having to answer questions about their commitment in place of verifiable results.
# 3 – Positive job prospects
The optional extra of on-the-job training or additional practical qualifications also makes the job prospects of an accounting career favourable, especially when you consider that end-goals in this area are often to either branch into freelancing, or open an accounting branch of your own.
These entrepreneur-led career focuses are fantastic for mothers who are too often left asking questions about the longevity of a career overseen by somebody else, especially after periods of maternity leave.
# 4 – An opportunity to earn more for less
When they’re balancing work and family life, mothers often face compromises regarding either their earnings or time with their children.
With medium salaries for even part-time accountants typically as high as $47,775 per year in low-end positions, it’s finally possible for mothers to earn more while working less.
This is especially more than many mothers make in even full-time roles and is really the differentiating factor that, when paired with countless other benefits, makes accounting such an attractive career choice for mothers overall.
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For too long, mothers have been treated as second-class citizens in the workplace, but compromises should never have to be made between family and careers, and accounting options are proving that in a major way.
So, why not consider the best ways that you could break into this field today?
