Motherhood, career breaks and barriers

Abstract

In this project I intend to analyse motherhood and the experience and motivations of Maltese mothers who have taken a career break to raise their children and then decide to return to paid work. I shall discuss how gender roles have moulded women into the role of the mother, expecting the woman to shoulder the burden of childcare and domestic responsibilities. I shall then discuss the barriers related to career breaks when these mothers decide to return to employment. Finally I put forward a number of recommendations about how women can overcome the difficulties to set a work life balance.