A new publication in the Journal of Management synthesizes findings from 303 international studies. It shows how institutions, the workplace, family circumstances, and individual factors shape decisions about returning to work after childbirth – often with different consequences for mothers and fathers.

Why do mothers and fathers often return to work under different conditions after the birth of a child? And why does this period remain an important starting point for gender differences in career and income trajectories? Katharina Bader, Juliet Kele, and Jana Oehmichen address these questions in their publication “Flattening the Baby Bump: An Interdisciplinary Review of Gendered Return-to-Work Decisions After Childbirth,” published in the Journal of Management. The authors synthesize findings from 303 international studies across different disciplines.

The study’s central perspective is that decisions about returning to work after childbirth do not occur in isolation. Institutional frameworks, workplace structures, family circumstances, and individual factors interact with one another. These interactions can contribute to different employment trajectories for mothers and fathers following childbirth. The period surrounding childbirth is therefore not only a private transition, but also a crucial point for subsequent professional and career trajectories. The review shows that differences between mothers and fathers cannot be attributed to individual factors alone. Rather, they emerge from the interplay of institutional conditions, the work environment, family circumstances, and individual decisions.

The study therefore does more than provide a systematic overview of existing research. It also highlights where organizations, policymakers, and society can take action to support a fairer return to work after childbirth and help reduce long-term inequalities in career and income trajectories.