Perceptions of Barriers to Motherhood: Female STEM PhD Students’ Changing Family Plans

Despite recent pronatalist policies in Hungary, the country has not boosted birth rates at expected rate. Higher educated women still delay transition to first birth, a smaller proportion of planned children are born than Western European countries, and level childlessness also been increasing. As post‐socialist legacy, prevailing traditional family gender norms strongly constrain reconciliation work roles, which can prevent from realizing their childbearing intentions or drive them live childfree life. Qualitative studies about how fertility decisions formed scarce, particularly relation male‐dominated high‐skilled professions, where realization plans be especially challenging. The present article explores barriers motherhood among female engineers. Results 27 semi‐structured interviews with mainly childless PhD students 2014–2015 show that were subject strong social expectations negatively influenced plans. On side, these involve becoming mother being responsible for child care household chores; on challenges include knowledge‐intensiveness jobs male career model hardly tolerates role motherhood. result, respondents had further delayed childbearing, forecast reconsidering after childbirth, one case, opted voluntary childlessness. Women reflected is stake due postponed cumulative effects hazardous laboratory work. Several intervention points suggested stakeholders.