Women’s work experiences are impacted by life events and changing family roles, including transition into motherhood. Motherhood-induced work-family conflicts are obstacles for mothers’ career development. Although wage penalties and employment changes in response to motherhood have been widely studied in the literature, less attention has been paid to inequalities in other aspects of women’s career trajectories, such as promotion progress and occupational achievement. This paper uses NLSY79 and Group Based Trajectory Analysis to describe US women’s career pathways. Specifically, I investigate how women’s promotion trajectories interact with fertility. Preliminary findings show distinct patterns of working experiences within US women and mothers throughout their life course, with 30 percent of mothers having very low chances of promotion following motherhood. Age at first birth, education, and race are associated with women’s promotion trajectories. The findings have implications for gender inequalities at work and family policies.

Accepted Poster Presentation