One in five mothers tries self-employment, but its role differs sharply by country.

Having a child can reshape a mother's career, but past studies rarely look at self-employmentself-employmentworking for yourself instead of for an employer on its own. Researchers wanted to see when and how mothers run their own businesses or work for themselves after having their first baby. To find out, the author tracked first-time mothers in South Korea and the United States for ten years after their first birth. They discovered that about one in five mothers tries self-employment at least once. However, working for yourself is not a permanent, unbroken path in either country. The patterns also look very different in each place. In Korea, mothers usually enter self-employment full-time after not being employed, using it to get back into paid work. In the United States, mothers mostly switch from wage jobs, sometimes working for themselves part-time during careers built around standard wage jobs.

Why it matters

As gig work and AI reshape jobs, more mothers may turn to self-employment. This study shows that in South Korea it often follows unemployment and leads back to regular jobs, while in the US it springs from wage work and often remains part-time. Knowing these patterns helps policymakers design support—like insurance or family leave—that fits how self-employment actually fits into mothers' lives.

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