‘Not on my bingo card’: This Toronto mom was laid off weeks after maternity leave. An expert says mothers still face career penalties

A Toronto mother who says she was laid off just two-and-a-half months after returning from a year-long maternity leave is drawing attention online to the career penalties working mothers can face. 

Danielle Lewis shared the unexpected job loss in a TikTok video, calling it something that was “not on my bingo card this year,” particularly so soon after celebrating her son’s first birthday. She has since started documenting the transition through a series called the “Unemployed Mama Diaries.”

@danielle.shantal

Wheww this was not on my bingo card this year especially 2 months after celebrating my sons 1st birthday. As difficult as it is what I know about God is that even in the storm he is still there. I am choosing to see the glory in this even though right now it makes no sense. As for now, join me as I work on finding myself and what makes me happy. Welcome to the unemployed mama diaries 🩵

♬ original sound – Danielle Shantal – Danielle Shantal

Lewis told Now Toronto that she believed she was joining a routine one-on-one meeting with her supervisor in July, only to discover that a human resources (HR) representative was also on the call. 

“My supervisor had scheduled a call. I was thinking it was more of a one-on-one situation because we were supposed to connect,” Lewis said. “Then I get in on the call, and HR is there letting me know that I am being laid off.”

Her employer attributed the decision to organizational restructuring rather than her performance. However, Lewis said the timing made her question whether her maternity leave and new responsibilities as a mother had placed her at a disadvantage — an experience that research suggests may reflect workspace perceptions about mothers returning from parental leave. 

Lewis questioned whether the layoff was connected to her leave

Before beginning maternity leave, she said her job appeared secure, she had established clients and another worker was brought in to cover her responsibilities. After returning from 12 months of leave, Lewis was moved onto a larger account, began learning a new process and started working under a new team lead. 

“I really put my head down to focus and get back into that,” she said.

Lewis said she believed she was performing well, which made the layoff difficult to understand. Her first reaction was to question whether her work had fallen short while she balanced returning to her position and caring for her son. 

“The first thing that came across my mind when I was being told I was being let go was I thought it was my performance,” she said. “Maybe it’s because I was on mat leave for too long, and I just thought I was the problem.”

Lewis said the company told her the decision was part of a broader restructuring, but she wondered why she was not considered for another position.

“It felt targeted because I’m now being let go two-and-a-half months after mat leave and not being able to collect enough EI hours to even go on unemployment after the fact,” she said.

Lewis did not identify her former employer. 

Longer parental leaves can carry hidden career penalties

Lewis’s experience does not establish that her maternity leave was behind the company’s decision. However, research suggests mothers can face disadvantages after taking extended parental leaves, even when the time away from work is legally protected and widely accepted.

Ivona Hideg is a professor of organization studies at York University’s Schulich School of Business who researches gender, diversity and workplace inequality. One area of her research examines how parental leave can affect women’s careers and leadership opportunities.

“My colleagues’ and my research shows that women who take longer parental leaves—such as a year or more—may be perceived as less agentic, meaning less ambitious, driven, and dedicated to their work,” Hideg told Now. “These perceptions can lead women to be seen as less committed to their careers and, in turn, less suitable for leadership positions.”

In a 2024 study examining parental leave and women’s careers, Hideg and her colleagues found that women who took parental leaves of one year or longer were perceived as less committed and less hireable than women who took shorter leaves.

Those negative effects were particularly pronounced in male-dominated occupations, including technology and engineering, where qualities such as ambition, assertiveness and professional drive tend to be highly valued.

The findings are part of the broader “motherhood penalty,” which describes the disadvantages mothers can experience in earnings, promotions and perceptions of their professional commitment.

A national study published in Canadian Public Policy found that Canadian mothers’ earnings decreased by an average of 49 per cent during the year they gave birth. Ten years after the birth of their first child, their earnings remained an average of 34.3 per cent lower than before they became mothers. Fathers’ earnings were not similarly affected.

Hideg said the public, including women themselves, may not recognize these career penalties because longer parental leaves have become normalized in Canada.

Although federally provided parental benefits can be shared, women continue to take most of the available leave. As a result, seeing a mother take 12 or 18 months away from work may appear common and socially accepted while still carrying hidden professional consequences.

“This lack of awareness also means that when women return to work and do not receive an expected raise or promotion, they may be more likely to see it as an individual problem rather than recognize the broader systemic and policy factors that may be contributing to that outcome,” Hideg said.

Finding childcare added pressure to Lewis’s return

Lewis’s return to work was further complicated by the difficulty of finding childcare in Ontario.

She began joining daycare waitlists when she was three months pregnant, before she knew she was having a boy. Lewis estimates she initially contacted at least 15 daycares before joining several more waitlists during her pregnancy.

Some providers told her that they would not have space until December 2026, 2027 or even 2028.

“It’s impossible as a mom, especially a first-time mom, to prioritize not only her family but working and building financial stability while finding childcare when there’s no availability,” she said.

When her maternity leave ended, Lewis temporarily worked remotely while caring for her son, attending meetings and completing her responsibilities at the same time.

She said her manager and team lead were compassionate and helped accommodate her while she continued searching for care. However, Lewis worried that being unable to meet the company’s hybrid office requirements could eventually put her job at risk.

Her son entered a part-time home daycare approximately two weeks before she was laid off and was expected to move into full-time care shortly afterward.

“It’s like it doesn’t even matter what you try to do and what you try to make better,” she said.

Hideg said childcare responsibilities can reinforce assumptions that mothers will prioritize their families over their careers, even when their performance remains strong.

“There is a large body of research on the motherhood penalty, showing that women with children tend to earn less and are less likely to be promoted, in part because of assumptions that mothers will prioritize childcare over their careers,” she said.

Fathers generally do not experience the same professional consequences. Hideg said some men may instead receive a “fatherhood premium,” which can include higher pay or more favourable workplace perceptions after becoming parents.

The York professor said these differences can be driven by gender stereotypes rather than objective differences in an employee’s performance or commitment.

What protections do Ontario parents have?

Pregnancy and parental leaves are job-protected under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. An employee returning from leave must generally be reinstated to the position they most recently held. If that job no longer exists, the employer must generally offer a comparable position.

However, job-protected leave does not prevent an employer from eliminating a position or laying off an employee for legitimate business reasons that are entirely unrelated to the leave.

The Ontario Human Rights Code also prohibits discrimination related to pregnancy. Whether an individual layoff violates employment or human-rights legislation depends on the circumstances and available evidence.

Hideg said she is not aware of research showing that employees returning from parental leave are specifically more likely to be disadvantaged during restructuring. However, she said this could occur if workers who took longer leaves were perceived as less ambitious or dedicated.

“This is why managers and employers need to recognize that parental leave policies are not necessarily gender-neutral in their consequences,” she said. “The same policy can affect women and men differently.”

How employers can support returning parents

One option Hideg and her colleagues studied is a voluntary “Keep in Touch” policy, which allows employees on parental leave to remain connected with their workplace to the extent they choose.

Workers could check in with colleagues or clients and remain informed about important decisions while they are away. Hideg said the approach may be helpful in professional fields such as consulting and law, where being completely disconnected from ongoing work for a year can carry career costs.

“Our research found that having this option can allow women to take longer leaves while still being seen as ambitious, committed, and dedicated to their work,” she said.

Hideg added that employers should not assume every parent requires the same assistance. Managers should speak directly with returning employees about the flexibility and support that would help them transition back into their roles.

She also wants employers to encourage more men to take longer parental leaves and normalize fathers’ involvement in everyday childcare, including school pickups and staying home when a child is sick.

Giving mothers and fathers equal access to leave, while providing fathers with non-transferable time of their own, could encourage more men to take it. Over time, Hideg said, that could weaken assumptions that women will always be the parent stepping away from work.

“I would like employers to recognize that taking a longer parental leave is not a sign of lower dedication, ambition, or commitment to one’s career,” she said.

Creating more supportive workplaces could also benefit fathers who want to be equal partners in raising their children.

“Creating workplaces where men feel comfortable taking leave and participating fully in childcare can therefore benefit women’s careers, give men greater opportunities to be involved as fathers, and, as research suggests, have important benefits for children as well,” Hideg said.

Lewis on betting on herself

After the TikTok video gained attention, Lewis said she received supportive messages from other mothers, human resources professionals and employment lawyers.

She ultimately decided not to pursue legal action. However, speaking with lawyers helped her negotiate improvements to her severance and benefits package and showed her that free consultations may be available to other workers facing similar circumstances.

Lewis has also received job postings, referrals, and messages from recruiters. For now, however, she is not rushing into another role.

Instead, she is focusing on content creation and determining what type of work will feel fulfilling while offering the flexibility she needs as a mother. Lewis said the experience has changed how she views corporate ambition after years of avoiding vacation and personal days and working through illnesses.

“The most important thing that you can do during this time is bet on yourself,” she said. “A lot of people are scared to bet on themselves because they think there’s no security in that. But betting on yourself means you’re in control.”