Women and work, only 6 out of 100 find work after maternity leave (and one out of five leave it) – Corriere.it

Almost one in five women between the ages of 18 and 49 no longer works after the birth of a child, about 18% of all female workers. Only 43.6% continue to work, but in the South and Islands the figure drops to 29%. Most leave because they cannot reconcile work and childcare (52%). 29% for non-renewal of the contract or dismissal and 19% for assessments of economic opportunity and convenience. To photograph the Inapp situation in the Plus 2022 Report Understanding the complexity of work, which collects the results of the survey conducted on a sample of 45,000 people aged 18 to 74 years. The share of women who did not work either before or after maternity was 31.8%. While those who have found work after the birth of a child are only 6.6%.

Motherhood keeps women away from work

In Italy, maternity continues to represent a structural cause of the fall in female participation in the labor market. In addition to the “brain drain”, the country can no longer tolerate this other form of dispersion of human capital linked to the lack of value and support for female employment, underlines Sebastiano Fadda, president of INAPP. In families made up of only one parent, the study highlights, the rates of leaving employment after maternity are higher: 23% against 18% among couples. In couples, on the other hand, the permanence of women in non-employment is greater: 32% against 20% among single parents.

The lack of childcare services

One of the reasons women are forced out of work is the lack of childcare facilities. The scarcity of services for early childhood – the Report reads – is confirmed by the percentage of employed parents who declare that they have not sent their children between 0 and 36 months to nursery school (56%). Among those who send their children to nursery school, 48% used the public service, 40% used a private nursery school. The only form of welfare, in the absence of nursery schools, for the majority of families continues to be the grandparents (58%). Women with the lowest levels of education leave their jobs first. 65% of female graduates remain in the job market, while 16% stop working against 21% of mothers with a middle school diploma.

Smart working and flexibility

To reconcile work and childcare, a quarter of those interviewed believe more flexible working hours are essential: 10% indicate teleworking or smart working. But even in this case it is above all women who opt for more flexible ways of working or reduced hours. For example, part-time work is cited as a solution to care needs by 12.4% of women compared to 7.9% of men. Even parental leave is mainly used by female workers: 68.6% women against 26.9% men. All data that demonstrate how care and attention continue to weigh especially on women. The change – says the president of INAPP – requires an organic convergence of fiscal, welfare and family policies to support the choices of procreating and raising children and effective gender equality throughout working and social life, and also in retirement.