Young mothers in Australia: prioritising motherhood and resisting stereotypes

ABSTRACT

This paper examines young women’s experiences of early motherhood focusing on their aims and goals for the future. Young mothers face a particularly complex set of life circumstances by virtue of entering parenthood outside the normative age of motherhood and are likely to experience discrimination, stereotyping and economic disadvantage. We report data from a small-scale qualitative study designed to gather evidence about the experiences, goals and aspirations of young mothers. While the main programs supporting young mothers in Australia focus on education and employment support, we find that young mothers prioritise mothering and focus on the importance of providing full-time care to their children. We find evidence that parenthood is potentially a catalyst for transitioning to more rewarding employment, but this is a secondary goal after motherhood priorities. We also find evidence of active resistance to stereotyping and the challenges these women face as they navigate motherhood outside the standard normative age for this transition. Our findings highlight the need for longitudinal work that can provide evidence of journeys through motherhood, heterogeneity in outcomes, support programs that cater for changing needs and greater recognition of the value of unpaid mothering and care work.

KEYWORDS:

• Young parents
• Australia
• support programs
• motherhood

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Sergi Vidal and Sophie Aiyer for input into the early stages of this study. We are very grateful to Wesley Mission Queensland, the Young Parenting Program and to the study participants who generously volunteered their time and participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course [CE140100027, CE200100025].