Why some Gen Z women are putting work over love and family

With the high career costs associated with motherhood, and in a challenging economy, more young women are choosing to put work ahead of love and family. 

According to a recent survey of 1,000 American working mothers by online resume builder Zety, 76% have been explicitly advised to delay having children until they’re more established in their careers, and 57% postponed motherhood for that reason.

“I hate that advice, because we should be living in a world where no matter what you’re doing outside of work, you should be able to achieve your career goals,” says Zety career expert Jasmine Escalera. “Yes, it is sound advice, but it’s advice people feel they need to give because of the work culture we have here in the United States.”

The study found that working moms face a slew of career challenges that prevent them from achieving their career potential while starting a family.

For example, 84% said their pregnancy was seen as an inconvenience at work, and 81% were asked to return from maternity leave early. The vast majority, 87%, say that becoming a mother negatively impacted their careers. Furthermore, 59% say it altered their career path and 31% say it inspired them to find a job with more flexibility or reduced hours. 

Half also chose not to have more than one child due to the work challenges they confronted having their first, and another 37% delayed having more children for the same reason.

“For women in particular, becoming pregnant, having children, starting a family significantly negatively impacts their careers,” Escalera says. “The data we saw was incredibly staggering in terms of how women are implicitly—and in many cases explicitly—being told that being a mom is going to negatively impact them in the workplace, and they have to choose one.”

A Clear Choice for Most Young Women

For as long as women have been in the workforce, they’ve been told they can’t “have it all,” and need to choose between career and family. Gen Z, however, may be the first to come to a broad consensus, with the majority picking economic independence over love, marriage and parenthood.

In a recent survey of 2,000 women aged 20 to 28 by essay writing service EduBirdie, 59% ranked professional and financial success ahead of finding love and starting a family. Furthermore, 88% of respondents considered themselves ambitious, and 25% believed they had to choose between their professional ambitions and love life. Overall, 30% said they either didn’t want kids in the future or weren’t sure.

“This generation does not pursue family as the main goal, but sees the financial aspect and their career as the first step towards settling down and starting a family,” says EduBirdie data lead Ksenia Hubska. “These young women have the choice, and they decide to focus on their careers first, and only if they feel financially secure do they think about starting families.”

Hubska explains that in today’s world—and economy—financial independence is a key consideration for young women. “They don’t co-depend, they’re not looking for a husband that takes care of them and their kids,” she says. “It’s about me creating my own life with a partner who has their own life.”

More Anxieties, and Options

Young women are struggling to establish their careers in a challenging job market and are concerned that their love or family lives could exacerbate that challenge, with 48% citing financial stress as a major concern. 

However, many are also choosing to delay starting a family because they have options that didn’t exist for women of prior generations, with advancements in fertility treatment enabling them to hit snooze on the biological clock.

According to the survey 11% have or plan to freeze their eggs, and another 20% are saving up to do so. “It’s genius, if you ask me,” says Hubska. “I never thought of it as an option at that age, but now girls are saving for it.”  

Hubska explains that many Gen Z women grew up watching their mothers struggle to balance their careers and caregiving responsibilities. As they enter adulthood, many are looking for an alternative that doesn’t rely on others.

In fact, 71% of respondents admitted to judging those who rely on others for financial support, and a third said they would not ask a loved one for financial assistance during an emergency. “It’s a different approach to the same challenge, and a more creative one,” Hubska says. “It’s about financial independence, which they value a lot.”

American women face more obstacles

America may be the world’s biggest economy, but it’s trailing peer nations when it comes to extending those opportunities to female workers—especially those that want to start a family.

In a global ranking of 16 advanced economies conducted by gender equality data provider Equileap—which analyzes gender-related policies at nearly 3,400 public companies with revenues over $2 billion—the United States placed second last, ahead of only Japan.

The study evaluated companies across 21 gender equity indicators, including gender balance at various levels of leadership, the gender pay gap, freedom from abuse and sexual harassment, flexibility and parental leave policies.

In 2023, the United States had 17 companies featured in the annual ranking’s top 100. Last year, the country had just 11 top 100 honorees. Now there are just 7 spots occupied by American brands.

“There are two reasons; one is that the threshold to make the top 100 list has gone up,” says the report’s co-author and the corporate communication and insights manager for Equileap parent company Denominator, Clara Sánchez. “But also, because U.S. companies are decreasing their gender equality scores.”  

The top ranked country in 2026 was Spain, whose companies averaged a score of 60 out of 100, followed by France at 59, with Italy and Norway tying for third at 58. American businesses, meanwhile, achieved an average score of 45, down from 44 in 2025.

“We talk about the leaking pipeline, and we see at different layers in the workplace,” Sánchez says. “In the U.S. 32% of workers are women, but just 25% are executives, and the research says that maternity leave makes a big impact.”

The lack of women in executive leadership in the United States, the gender wage gap, the lack of paid maternity leave and the career penalties that come with starting a family has broader implications. 

According to a study conducted by Denominator, companies that provide at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave generate 21% higher revenues, have 13% higher market capitalizations, and earn 9% greater net incomes.

“In a country like the U.S., where there’s no statutory parental leave, and where job security is not guaranteed by the state,” says Sánchez, “I’m not surprised that women are thinking twice [about motherhood].”

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