Motherhood price: Women forced to choose between jobs and babies

Wanjiku Wanjiru always believed motherhood was something to celebrate. A journey filled with joy, not trade-offs. But when she got pregnant with her third child, the belief was tested in ways she never expected.

Unlike her previous pregnancies, where she had flexible or supportive jobs, this time was different. Working at a private learning institution, she assumed the environment would be more accommodating.

Instead, she was confronted with a blatant choice to either take one month of paid maternity leave or six unpaid, with no guarantee of getting her job back.

“At first I thought I could manage the one month but as days went by, I realised I wasn’t in the same place as before. The job was intense, the working environment was stressful and I started asking myself how I would cope with a newborn on top of that,” she says.

The turning point came when she considered her health and her child’s wellbeing. Wanjiru chose her he child, a decision was forced to make because of the circumstances. Now four months after leaving her job and three months post-delivery, Wanjiru says the cost of that decision still lingers, not just financially but emotional.

“I had to choose between my job and my baby. It wasn’t an easy decision but it was forced by circumstances,” she says.

To her, motherhood came at a price.

“If I didn’t get pregnant, I could still be working today. That’s the truth,” she adds.

Stretched thin 

“The unfortunate truth is that if I didn’t get pregnant and get a child, I’d still be there working it out. But now with a new child, I needed to make a decision and it was a tough decision to make because I had stayed for two years before getting that job,” Wanjiru adds.

As the world marks Mother’s Day, Wanjiru’s experience raises questions about what it really means to support motherhood in workplace policies and practices.

Months after leaving her job, she says she doesn’t regret choosing her child, but not at a cost.

“It was not easy to make that decision because you’re thinking about rent, food, school fees and at the same time, you’re trying to be present for your baby. That balance is very hard,” Wanjiru adds.

Her story is not unique. Across the country, women are stepping back from careers, taking in income losses and carrying the weight of both care and survival

Her experience captures what economists and gender equality advocates describe as the motherhood penalty, an economic disadvantage women face as a result of having children.

Mary Nyaboke, a 30-year-old Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teacher, lost her job after she got pregnant with her second baby.

Earning Sh8,000 a month as a teacher, was already stretched thin in supporting her household, paying rent, food and other basic needs. For her, every coin mattered.

She persevered, teaching, standing for long hours, and managing young children through the final months of her pregnancy.

“I worked until my last trimester because I couldn’t afford to stop working even when my body was telling me to slow down. I thought if stayed committed, at least I would have something to back to,” she says.

Like many ECDE teachers across the country, Nyaboke worked without a formal contract or clear employment protections. Her pay was low but her job security was even lower.

The ECDE sector, particularly in private schools, remains one of the most underpaid and least protected in the education system and for Nyaboke, this was a lived reality.

When she finally stopped working to prepare for delivery, there was no structured maternity leave; she only understood that she would return when ready. But when she did, her position was gone. She had been replaced. Without an income, providing basic needs became a struggle. She could not afford rent and eventually she opted to do laundry work for families to earn a living.

“If there was maternity leave, even for a few months, and a guarantee that I would come back, things would be different,” she says.

The pattern is not only embedded in Kenya’s labour market but it remains largely invisible in official statistics.

Economists state that more often, mothers are at a disadvantage in the workforce because policies and legislation do not adequately include their needs for adequate maternity leave, wages and childcare.

This trend is common in both public and private sectors. This week, 18 young women were expelled from police training for being pregnant, denying them the coveted slots at the national training academy.

The women were among 54 recruits who were permanently discontinued from the current Basic Recruit Training Course carried out at Kiganjo Police Training College for diverse reasons.

Eighteen of the recruits were expelled explicitly for being pregnant, exposing the entrenched systemic biases that disadvantage women.

The move ignited debate with women's rights and gender equality advocates calling castigating it as discriminatory.

Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba suggested that instead of outright dismissal, the women should have been issued with deferment letters.

“The news of 18 women police recruits chased out of Kiganjo Police Training College because they got pregnant is devastating. They fell pregnant yes; it’s not a crime.It’s a blessing,” said the MP.

“Kicking them out is wrong rather they should be deferred. I request the police in-charge to issue them with deferment letters to secure their slots. I have written to that effect. Even those who fall pregnant as minors have a second chance,” said Wamuchomba, calling on the Cabinet Secretary for Interior to intervene.

The abrupt dismissal of the women recruits was casually announced by General Nyale Munga, Senior Assistant Inspector during a high profile inspection tour of the training facility 

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo said the matter should be taken to parliament for consideration.

The mothers like Wanjiru and the young police recruits, the biases are realities of motherhood that cost them financial independence and freedom, career progression and the ability to plan their lives.

“There’s something having your own money does. It gives you a voice, it gives you choices but when that’s gone, everything changes,” Wanjiru stated.

She adds that even as she focuses on her newborn, there are moments she feels left behind.

“There’s a part of me that feels like people out there are moving, chasing their dreams and I’m here feeling like I’m getting delayed ,” she says.

Data from the Economic Survey 2026 shows that while employment continues to grow, most new jobs are being created in the informal sector, where women, most of them mothers are overrepresented. 

They often lack job security, maternity protection or stable incomes. Coupled with persistent wage disparities, women continue to earn less and experience slower income growth than men over time.

This tension also reflects at the household level particularly as the cost of living rises. The Economic Survey shows that food prices remain a key driver of inflation, hence increasing pressure on families and by extension on women who manage household budgets.

According to the International Labour Organisation, women continue to face unequal treatment in employment particularly around pregnancy and maternity issues.

ILO states that many are pushed out of jobs or into lower-quality work due to caregiving responsibilities. 

“Without adequate maternity protection, childcare support and workplace flexibility, gender gaps in employment and earnings are likely to persist,” warns the ILO.

Globally, ILO estimates that there are about 708 million women who have been excluded from participating in the labour market and economic activities due to unpaid care responsibilities. 

Suffer higher barriers.

“Care responsibilities are excluding and holding back millions of women worldwide from taking paid employment,” states ILO.

Wanjiru suggests introduction of policies that gives mothers foundational protection to take care of their children and still be able to participate in the economy.

“I think the bigger win for women would be six months paid maternity leave. Three months is not enough. Those three months are for the child, but the mother also needs time to heal, physically and mentally,” she argues.

“You can have that flexibility of deciding I can leave this job, deliver my baby, and once they’re grown enough to be left behind, I can always resume the job or even look for another job. Unfortunately, in the current situation we are living in as a country, job opportunities are very hard to come by.

Wanjiru reveals that most women have been forced to persevere  the harsh realities at workplaces just to keep their jobs and feed their families.

In the light of such inequalities, the ILO adopted a landmark resolution on decent work and the care economy at the ILO’s International Labour Conference in June 2024, paving way for member countries to tackle challenges and harness the opportunities presented by the care economy.

“The way care is currently organised tends to reinforce the gender and social inequalities we are striving to overcome. The ILO Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy calls for policies and systems that counter inequalities in terms of who receives and provides care, addresses the barriers preventing many women from entering, remaining and progressing in paid work”, explains ILO Director General Gilbert F Houngbo.