The Motherhood Gap: Why One in Three Women turn to Solopreneurship Postpartum

A peer-reviewed study hosted on ResearchGate titled "How does motherhood affect self-employment performance?" (Mousa & Carter, 2017) found that 67.6 percent of self-employed women launched businesses after childbirth, compared to only 32.4 percent before having children (ResearchGate). This supports a notable trend: women increasingly responding to their inflexible work spaces. 

This shift is not fueled by lower ambition, but by a lack of workplace structures that support parenting. Without adequate paid maternity leave, flexible schedules, or childcare services, many women opt for solopreneurship or contract work as a way to balance professional growth with parental responsibilities.

These entrepreneurial endeavors often stem from unmet needs identified during pregnancy or early motherhood. Women frequently launch these ventures in family services, early childhood development, and maternal health sectors where empathy, emotional intelligence, and lived experience provide a distinct competitive advantage.

Academic research underscores the leadership skills women bring to entrepreneurship. Recent studies demonstrate that emotional intelligence significantly enhances women’s leadership effectiveness (Wang et al., 2022; Smith & Lee, 2021; Johnson, 2021). Emotional intelligence traits such as empathy, self-regulation, and social responsibility are strongly correlated with transformational and high-performance leadership styles, which align well with success in unique endeavors.

What are FSA Eligible Benefits for Working Parents?

For HR brokers, this trend underscores a dual imperative: retaining talented women through meaningful benefit design and recognizing the leadership qualities women bring to entrepreneurship. Employers can meet this need by offering comprehensive benefits—such as enhanced parental leave, flexible work policies, caregiving resources, and integrated virtual platforms.

Full service parent benefit plans are available, unlike traditional EAPs that often lead parenting needs unmet. It is important to verify that your benefit plans can cover a wide range of parent wellness specialties. For working parents this means lactation specialists, parent coaches, pediatric nutritionists, life coaching, and beyond. 

Want to know if a telehealth platform like MissPoppins is the best choice for your workforce? Check out our employer page for directions on receiving a demo.