Parental Guilt and Career Aspirations: A Hidden Barrier for Mothers in the Italian Labor Market?

Despite growing focus on gender equality, mothers are still often held more responsible for their children and blamed for their problems compared to fathers (Jackson & Mannix, 2004; Buzard et al., 2023). This uneven burden often leads to feelings of "maternal guilt," wherein mothers feel unable to meet contemporary cultural ideals of the "good mother," which impose excessively high standards of physical, psychological, and intellectual dedication to children (Guendouzi, 2006; Henderson et al., 2010; Liss et al., 2013; Rizzo et al., 2013). While previous studies have shown that in Europe guilt can negatively impact women's commitment to their careers (Rúdólfsdóttir & Auðardóttir, 2024), manifesting in job quitting (Manna et al., 2021) or reduced work hours (Aarntzen et al., 2019), this article explores how guilt affects women in Italy. Italy, characterized by low female labour force participation (ISTAT, 2020a) and very low fertility rates (Eurostat, 2021), lacks empirical evidence on the role of maternal guilt, despite these issues being critical to understanding the persistent gender gap in both the labor market and family life. Drawing on notions of time availability, relative resources and “doing gender” (West & Zimmerman, 1987, Bianchi et al. 2000), we hypothesize that mothers are less likely to choose prestigious (high income, strong career prospects, and high interest) but highly demanding jobs (long working hours, long commutes, etc.) compared to childless women and men. Additionally, we expect guilt to serve as a barrier to such career choices among mothers but not among fathers. Our hypotheses are tested using original survey data (CAWI) collected in Italy from a large sample of parents and childless respondents (N ≈ 6,000) in the fall of 2024. Ultimately, this study aims to shed light on how maternal guilt constrains women’s career aspirations, reinforcing gender inequalities in Italy's labour market.