The recession ended in 2009 and we all know that recovery has been slow – especially for women. The good and bad news: women lost fewer jobs during the recession than men, but women also had a tougher time finding jobs. However, a new study by The Institute for Women’s Policy Research gives us hope. Three years after the recession ended, women are making some headway and are finally gaining more and losing fewer jobs than in 2009.

The study concludes that in the last three years of recovery men have recaptured 46.2% of all the jobs they lost since the beginning of the recession. Women are almost ten percent behind, having gained back 38.7% of all the jobs lost. In 2012 women have gained half a million more jobs than they did last year.
This does sound encouraging but the glass is still only half-full. At least it’s getting fuller for almost everyone.

For Almost Everyone Except…
For one group, the glass only contains a few sips of lukewarm water: married women with children.
According to a new study that will be published this week, researchers from the University of Washington and University of Alberta found that mothers are having even more difficulties finding employment and that they earn less once they do – even after controlling for education and work experience

Compared to married fathers with children, married women with kids who were looking for employment between 2007 and 2009 had a 31% lower chance of getting hired. When comparing single men and women without children, women have the advantage with a 29% higher chance of finding a new job.

Married mothers with children don’t just have the pressure of balancing work and family, they also have more challenges when trying to re-enter the workforce. Having children can be a liability in the opinion of employers and there are still a lot of stereotypes that mothers will be less productive or less dedicated, even though studies have proven that this is not the case at all.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Jonovski.