Mommy track.

Nickname for a slower-paced, lower-paid career path created for working mothers who needed greater flexibility in their jobs. Following the women’s movement of the 1970s and 1980s, women began entering the work force in far greater numbers than previous generations. Furthermore, women began obtaining more degrees from top-tier universities and attaining higher level positions in corporate careers. However, working women continued to bear most the household and child-care responsibilities at home, a phenomenon that sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild dubbed “the second shift,” which places significant stresses on working mothers and limits their ability to take on opportunities at and outside of work that would allow them to advance their careers. These familial obligations cause women to experience more career interruptions and greater job turnover than men.