The "motherhood penalty" exists and it happens to moms who go back to work after giving birth. It puts working moms in a difficult place when trying to advance in the workforce, but a company is aiming to fix this problem by coming up with a moms-only job site.
As most working mothers know, getting one's bearing back following a maternity leave is a challenge and some might find that their pay and opportunities, like a job promotion, have been docked. Others might not even have a full-time job to return to and it's as if they have been penalized for choosing to have kids over work.
This is what motherhood penalty is about and it has been proven to happen in a previous study about women having no babies before they are 30, as Parent Herald reported. The discrimination against working moms does not fly with Jennifer Gefsky and Niccole Kroll, who have gone through the same experience. So together, they created Après the unique job site dedicated for moms.
The possibility that a #woman can have a baby can be enough for employers to push her to the back of the line. https://t.co/NMbtmTBJaB
— The 100% Project (@100PercentProj) May 4, 2016
The Working Moms' LinkedIn
Après officially launched May 4 and the digital platform has been compared to LinkedIn, the popular job-hunting social media site, per Fast Company. Moms will be able to create their profile on Après and scour through full-time, part-time and consulting work among different companies and industries. For an additional fee, their profiles will be made available to companies. However, what sets Après apart is its specific niche of users, who are mostly aged 35 and above.
"This virtually untapped pool of candidates is an invaluable source of talent for corporate America-they bring a strong skillset, a proven work record, reliability and life experience," said Jennifer Gefsky via the press release. It shouldn't be difficult for talented, hard-working and intelligent moms with graduate degrees to re-enter the workforce again with Après.
Après is the LinkedIn for women who have taken a career break https://t.co/JPGSrxjR1i
— Moira Forbes (@moiraforbes) May 4, 2016
Cutting The Motherhood Penalty Gap
"Today in the United States, we estimate that there are more than three million women with college or advanced degrees trying to re-enter the workforce," Gefsky said, in relation to creating the site. Some companies have started recognizing the wealth of talent among the millions of working mothers, but the team behind Après hopes to cut down the effects of motherhood penalty further.
