The Maternal Wall

While some women stand nose pressed against the glass ceiling, many working mothers never get near it. What stops them is the “maternal wall.” Where mothers are concerned, coworkers and bosses often perceive a trade-off between competence and warmth. That’s what I found when I reviewed the research on stereotyping in the workplace. Social psychology […]

by

Joan C. Williams

by

Joan C. Williams

From the Magazine (October 2004)

Summary.

Reprint: F0410H

Working women are well respected at the office—until they have children, finds law professor Joan C. Williams.

While some women stand nose pressed against the glass ceiling, many working mothers never get near it. What stops them is the “maternal wall.” Where mothers are concerned, coworkers and bosses often perceive a trade-off between competence and warmth.

A version of this article appeared in the October 2004 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Joan C. Williams is a Sullivan Professor of Law at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and the founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law. An expert on social inequality, she is the author of 12 books, including Bias Interrupted: Creating Inclusion for Real and for Good (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021) and White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019). To learn about her evidence-based, metrics-driven approach to eradicating implicit bias in the workplace, visit www.biasinterrupters.org.

The Maternal Wall

Partner Center

Explore HBR

HBR Store

About HBR

Manage My Account

Follow HBR