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Ask most moms and they might tell you that all they wanted for Mother’s Day was sleep, some more sleep, and—dare to dream—the chance to take a bath without someone banging on the door every five minutes because the other parent is seemingly incapable of settling a simple Lego dispute.
What they might not have wanted for Mother’s Day was a copy of this new Indeed survey of moms in the US, which found that while mothers who’ve focused mainly on childcare duties have developed great skills for business, employers may be overlooking their value and “transferability.”
Welcome to the (mother)hood. Mothers, whether they’re new or longtime moms, are building valuable skills that they can bring to a workplace.
Pew Research recently released a report on motherhood in the US, which found that overall, mothers spend more time caregiving than fathers. Before children turn six, mothers spend an average of 2.2 hours more per day with their kids than fathers do, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That spread decreases as children get older, but mothers also take on more childcare activities, including schedule management, emotional support, and homework. All of this is on top of building saint-like levels of patience as yet another side of broccoli gets tossed in the trash.
During that time, stay-at-home parents build skills that many businesses need, according to Indeed. For instance, 73% are proficient in multitasking, while 64% manage the family budget. And moms aren’t just managing household-related tasks. Some 34% have also organized community events. While they’re gaining skills, they’re losing an estimated potential lifetime earnings of $237,000, according to the Department of Labor.
Disconnect between moms and employers. Despite these skills, Indeed found that moms who are ready to reenter the workforce struggle to find work. Despite some employers becoming more open-minded about career gaps, and LinkedIn’s recent efforts to reduce the stigma associated with résumé gaps, some studies suggest that job applicants who are transparent about time spent parenting are still viewed less favorably, Forbes reported.
There are ways that HR leaders and recruiters can welcome these moms back to the workforce, though. Companies like Amazon, Accenture, and NBCUniversal all offer returnships, which can help moms get back to work.
“Stay-at-home moms are a massively underutilized part of the population, yet are extremely hard-working and adaptable,” Kristen Shah, a career trends expert at Indeed, said in an email to HR Brew via PR rep Devan Gallagher. “We see an opportunity for stay-at-home moms looking to reenter the workforce to position their skills in a way that will resonate with employers.”—KP