More supports and cheaper childcare are needed to help mothers re-join the workforce.
OECD data shows Ireland has very low participation rates for mothers, particularly for those from a low-educational background.
The CSO's Labour Force Survey for the second three months of this year, shows 61 per cent of working-age women are in employment, compared to over 70 per cent of men, according to the Irish Times.
Lecturer in Gender Studies at UCD, Dr Mary McAuliffe says the cost of childcare is taking the choice to participate in the workforce away from some mothers:
"Certainly, there is the idea that there should be a choice that women who are mothers, or indeed fathers, can choose to stay at home for some parts of the child's early life. It is very important that that choice is there. But I would say it's not a cultural thing so much anymore. It's more an economic thing that is forcing a lot of women to spend maybe a couple of years at home with the children".
