Ambition, caregiving and promotion bias continue to be real barriers in women's careers. Have you been put on 'the mummy track'?

It is still commonly assumed that women, once they become mothers, are less ambitious than men.

With age and motherhood, the story goes, women lower their career goals.

It’s especially the perception of women who work part time.

And given women represent just 16% of CEO positions in Australia, with 30% senior managers, the statistics on paper seem to support this theory… right?

Enter, the Mummy Track.

If you've not heard of the term, The Mummy Track refers to the plateauing of career trajectory once a woman becomes a mother.

Women who have been put on the 'The Mummy Track' by employers see their chances of career progression disappearing almost overnight. Working mothers on The Mummy Track are often overlooked for interesting projects and assumptions are made about their ambition and what they are and are not willing to do (for example, working overtime or travel) - all without consulting with the working mum!

So, is it a mothers lack of ambition, or Ambition Bias acting against her?

Do women opt out of the workforce for love of their children? Does having a baby cause a woman to lose her professional ambition?

A Boston Consulting Group survey of more than 200,000 employees – including 141,000 women – from 189 countries has turned those questions into myths, revealing their unequivocal findings that:

• having children does not make women less ambitious, and
• ambition is influenced by company culture.

The study found that both genders are equally ambitious and equally rational.?Ambition is not a fixed trait, but rather an attribute that can be nurtured or damaged over time through daily interactions and employee experiences.

Yet, ambition bias, caregiving bias and promotion bias continue to be real barriers in women's careers.

So, what can you do to protect your own career, advocate for fellow female colleagues and be an inclusive leader in the face of unconscious biases?

1. Get clear on your professional vision and do the work to understand your value - whether you're a leader or an employee, a Grace Papers coach can guide you.
2. Be vocal about speaking out against biases and unconscious discrimination and be an advocade for your female peers
3. Abandon gender stereotypes and encourage men to model flexible working, part time/job share management positions and utilise their parental leave
4. Amplify female ambition! Be proactive in putting yourself forward and sponsor women.

Grace Papers exists to support you on your journey to gender equality via our expert backed, science based platform and coaching. Please?explore our website?and?email us here?to discuss how we can support you, no matter where you are at on your gender equality journey.

Embracing gender equality requires us to reimagine the possibilities for the future of work; for the potential of humanity. It requires us to challenge the stories we tell ourselves to identify the beliefs that limit us. It’s doing what we do...but with a dose of grace.