Many years after the launch of the project to implement the constitutional provisions on equal opportunities between men and women, especially with respect to the right to work, the issue of the relationship between motherhood and career still remains topical and problematic. In spite of the legislative and jurisprudential developments aimed at promoting women’s work, women are often still faced with the difficult choice between fulfilling their aspirations of professional fulfilment and fully carrying out their ‘essential family function’. Therefore, this contribution proposes to reflect on the issue of the relationship between motherhood, career and women’s access to senior roles, taking into account the constitutional provisions that allow, if not impose, the necessary differentiation in discipline to prevent motherhood from becoming an obstacle to the full exercise of certain rights. To do so, we will take as our starting point the Constitutional Court ruling no. 211/2023, which also provides an opportunity to reflect on the substitute legislator’s role that the Court increasingly assumes.