More than half of large family mothers (56%) have felt discriminated against or penalized at some point in their lives for having more children, and 51% believe that this circumstance has hindered their access to employment.
This is revealed by a survey of almost 800 large family mothers, conducted by the Spanish Federation of Large Families (FEFN) to understand how they experience motherhood and what difficulties and needs these mothers have.
On the occasion of Mother’s Day, celebrated this Sunday, May 2, the FEFN wants to highlight motherhood and demand greater social recognition that translates into real support for families, in this case focused on mothers, who are the ones who suffer the most social and labor discrimination due to having children and who take on more childcare and household tasks.
«Mothers make a fundamental contribution to society and cannot pay a high price for it in the form of missed opportunities, excessive work, and mental burden from not being able to juggle everything,» emphasizes FEFN vice president Encarni Álvarez.
The survey confirms the low social valuation or recognition that motherhood has in the eyes of the women themselves, as stated by 86% of mothers. 47% of them believe that society values motherhood «very little,» and 39% think «not at all.»
It also reflects the workload they take on in caring for their children and family, their difficulties in juggling everything, and the constraints they face in terms of time and money when it comes to balancing work and family.
According to the data collected by the FEFN, the majority of large family mothers work outside the home (79%), with 29% acknowledging that they do so for economic reasons, as they need «to have two incomes to cover all their needs,» although the majority, 49%, cite a dual motive: economic and because they do not consider «not pursuing a professional activity.»
Likewise, many women (40%) say they will enjoy spending time with their children but would not «stop working outside the home, I prefer to balance work and family,» while 43% say they would stay at home to personally care for their children and dedicate more time to them, but they know it is «unfeasible for economic reasons.»
Of the total mothers who work outside the home, 59% do so full-time and 20% part-time, with a schedule more compatible with family needs, which are many in families with children and fall more on women, according to their own opinion: 3 out of 4 mothers (76%) are clear that they take on more work on a day-to-day basis in caring for their children and the home, although half of the mothers (51%) acknowledge that there is a more equitable distribution in large families.
Within all the work, the daily challenge for large family mothers is «family logistics: shopping, meals, laundry, tutoring, pediatricians…,» as stated by 38%; followed by reconciliation, a challenging issue for 22% of mothers who say that «working outside the home, it is difficult to balance work schedules with family.»
The study concludes that economic support and reconciliation are the two most necessary issues for families and, specifically, for mothers. 51% demand direct assistance «to address reconciliation needs with tailored solutions» and 39% «real reconciliation measures, accessible to all, such as paid leave.»
