Motherhood during professional activity and the motherhood pension gap

The aim of the study is to identify and determine the diversity of factors that affect the pension gap as a consequence of procreative decisions in the context of women’s professional activity. These include, among others, breaks from work due to maternity and parental leave, a slowdown in career (e.g. due to employers’ worse perception of mothers as employees, or women’s own decisions to slow down their careers or reduce professional activity for the good of the family and raising children). In this study, attention is focused on identifying existing conditions and dependencies - based on statistical data for European countries, which will also allow for the identification of possible differences. The relationship between demographic indicators in individual countries and the level of the gender pension gap and selected indicators concerning professional activity in connection with motherhood will be examined, including, for example, solutions aimed at women’s quick return to work, such as the number of nurseries/kindergartens per child in a given country, work flexibility (part time, home office), identification of professions with a profile facilitating childcare (e.g. teacher or clerical work), etc., and checking the level of wages in relation to positions that are at odds with each other (e.g. corporate work or shift/duty work).