Posthaste: This Mother’s Day, think of the personal, professional sacrifices

Mother's Day on Sunday is a good time to remember how much moms sacrifice for their families. Photo by Postmedia

Article content

Article content

Article content

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to understand the personal and professional sacrifices needed to raise children.

Article content

Whether it’s forgoing or taking a leave of absence from that dream job to raise a family or the unexpected expenses of motherhood, moms have to make tough decisions for the betterment of their families.

Article content

So much so that 72 per cent of Canadian mothers believe raising children has impacted their financial well-being, according to a recent survey by Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Article content

Article content

More specifically, 38 per cent said having children has hurt their ability to pay off debt, 30 per cent said raising children has hurt their ability to invest in their family’s future and 28 per cent said it’s changed their retirement goals.

Article content

Article content

Motherhood can also be expensive, with 31 per cent of mothers saying more than half of their discretionary budget goes toward their children, while 63 per cent said more than a quarter goes to their kids.

Article content

Many working mothers also grapple with burnout or have difficulty balancing a family and a professional career.

Article content

About 20 per cent said they are running their own business while parenting, but 80 per cent of entrepreneurial mothers are finding it difficult to balance work and motherhood.

Article content

Another survey, by Robert Half Inc., said 51 per cent of working moms reported burnout. To alleviate that, the working mothers suggested companies hire more staff and encourage moms to take time off work.

Article content

Most working mothers are also looking for flexible work options as they try to balance work and family life.

Article content

The Robert Half survey said 66 per cent of working moms will only consider a new position if flexible work is a benefit of the job, while 75 per cent of them are satisfied in their current position because of the flexibility their employer began offering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article content

Article content

The survey also said that less than a quarter of working moms would be interested in a promotion that requires people management — compared to 35 per cent of working dads — due to concerns about maintaining a work-life balance.

Article content

Article content

Article content

 Sign up here to get Posthaste delivered straight to your inbox.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Article content

IIF

Article content

Portfolio flows into emerging markets slammed to an abrupt halt in April after the “sharpest regime shift in trade policy in more than a decade” spooked investors, said the Institute of International Finance.

Article content

“The data underline the significance of the April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement by the Trump administration, which triggered a meaningful repricing of global risk and a sharp increase in flow volatility across EM assets,” said IIF senior economist Jonathan Fortun.

Article content

Total non-resident flows turned negative by US$200 million, a “dramatic reversal” from the US$37.5 billion in net inflows recorded in March.

Article content

The IIF’s high frequency data puts April among the top five months with the highest standard deviation in equity flows since 2021, highlighting just how huge the magnitude of this investor repositioning was.