Mothers’ return to work after childbirth: mental health and family wellbeing

Research shows that mothers’ earnings stagnate and often decrease following childbirth, leading to a large and growing gender pay gap. This is often referred to as the “motherhood penalty”. In response to this, considerable work has focused on policies that may facilitate the return of mothers to the workplace. However, knowledge remains scarce regarding the implications of the timing of this return on maternal mental health and on children’s development.

This workshop brings together experts and academics from academic and other sectors around topics at the intersection of maternal labour supply, policies that support mothers’ return to work, mental health, child development, and family wellbeing and dynamics.

In-person attendance at this event is limited to 25 people. An online attendance option is available. Registration will close at noon on Monday, May 12.

Agenda

8:30	Sign in, refreshments, and networking
9:00	Keynote
	Professor Elizabeth Dhuey, University of Toronto Bridging work and family: What policies help mothers return to work and thrive?
10:00	Session 1: Mothers’ return to work, maternal health and children’s outcomes (1)
	Kourney Koebel, University of Toronto Is there a “double penalty” of childbirth? Investigating the impact of childbirth on employment and well-being in the UK (with Daisy Pollene)
10:45	Break and refreshments
11:05	Session 2: Mothers’ return to work, maternal health and children’s outcomes (2)
	Feranaaz Farista, University of Cape Town In survival mode’: Navigating postpartum mental health and workforce re-entry for Muslim mothers in South Africa
	Brenda Tibingana-Ahimbisibwe, Statistics Canada Statistics Canada’s mother-centric data linkage: Maternal residence following teen pregnancy in Canada (with Nicole Aiken, Yves Decady, and Fei-Ju Yang)
12:35	Lunch (provided)
2:00	Session 3: Policies and programs that encourage mothers’ return to work
	Derek Messacar, Statistics Canada and Memorial University Initial effects of the early learning and child care “Toward $10-a-day” fee reductions on mothers’ labour market outcomes
	Lindsey McKay, Thompson Rivers University Parental leave inequity as a contributor to post-leave maternal and child health (with Andrea Doucet and Sophie Mathieu)
3:30	Break and refreshments
3:50	Session 4: Mothers’ return to work and the role of spousal involvement
	Timea Laura Molnár, Central European University Mothers’ return to work after childbirth, and the role of spousal involvement in mothers’ mental health, mothers’ careers and their children’s development (with Gaëlle Simard-Duplain)
4:35	Closing and acknowledgements

This event is being held to share outcomes and learnings at the close of the Vanier Institute of the Family’s 2024 Early Career Scholar Secondary Data Analysis Grant” which was awarded to Gaëlle Simard-Duplain and Tímea Molnár. Additional support for this event is provided by Carleton University.