How many moms work outside the home

This is good news for stay-at-home moms knee-deep in diapers and temper tantrums. Two studies suggest that you being home with your children during those early stages is better for your kids than them being in childcare full-time. Studies from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Institute of Child Development of the University of Minnesota found that children who spend a large amount of their day in daycare experienced higher stress levels and aggression as opposed to those who stayed home.

Follow-up research seven years after the original study confirmed those findings still held true. That doesn't mean you have to keep your children locked in your house until they're ready to go to school. There are many childcare options SAHMs can use to get a break without committing to daycare or other full-time care. Look for a Mom's Day Out or babysitting co-op to let your kids play with others while giving you some much-needed time alone.

More women are becoming stay-at-home moms. But the numbers from a Pew Research study do show that the number of women who are becoming stay-at-home moms has risen.

Regardless of the increasing numbers, quitting your job to become a stay-at-home mom shouldn't be out of guilt or peer pressure. While there are many great reasons to be a stay-at-home mom, being an at-home parent isn't for everyone.

If you've ever toyed with the idea of going back to work , you're not alone. If you're thinking about going back to work too, you can take some steps now to prepare. You can cover your employment gap, take classes that can help you get ahead in the working world, earn licenses or certificates that can enhance your resume, or even look into a part-time job.

Then there are those moms who want to earn money but can't imagine re-joining the rat race for a typical 9—5 job. There are plenty of at-home business opportunities moms can start as well as work-at-home opportunities that let women stay home and make money too. Studies suggest that stay-at-home moms report more depression, sadness, and anger.

A Gallup poll surveyed 60, women including women with no children, working moms, and stay-at-home moms who were or were not looking for work. The Gallup poll revealed more stay-at-home moms reported experiencing sadness or anger in their day than moms who worked outside of the home.

It's important to note that while the numbers for stay-at-home moms do support Gallup's results, the difference in most of the percentages isn't a huge gap. Every stay-at-home mom must establish a support network, including regular outings with your mom friends to get a much-needed break and prevent mommy burnout. A study found that moms are spending too much time with their kids. The Mommy Wars pressures make stay-at-home moms feel like they're not a worthy member of society while making working moms feel like they're not spending enough time with their children.

While the study suggested that moms are spending too much time with their kids with no scientifically proven difference in their outcomes, a Highland Spring survey of 2, families revealed parents are only spending 34 uninterrupted minutes a day with their children because of the stresses of daily life.

That's why it's important for moms to find the right balance in their marriage and daily lives. There's nothing wrong with making the most of your family time, including creating gadget-free zones and making sure your kids can't accuse you of being distracted. But you also need to take care of your own emotional well-being and let your children spend some time away from you. Whether you work or stay home, stop feeling like you're failing as a parent.

Societal pressures make moms feel like they can't win whether they're carrying a diaper bag or a briefcase all day. When it comes down to it, research is just research.

Ultimately, what's best for you and your family is what matters most. It's true not everyone has the luxury of choosing between staying home or working but research can't tell you exactly what's going on in your family. It is well documented that black and Hispanic women have lower wages, on average, than white men, men of color, and white women. While generally higher levels of education are associated with higher earnings, this analysis shows that women with a college degree are the least likely to be breadwinners, although the likelihood of being a co-breadwinner increases along with educational attainment.

However, the picture looks slightly different when comparing breadwinning mothers by marital status. Women with a college degree are the least likely to be unmarried breadwinners bringing home the primary income for their family, which accounts for their overall lower breadwinner numbers.

But even among married mothers, those with a college degree have the same rates of breadwinning as women with only a high school diploma when compared with their husbands. Two connected factors explain this, at least partially.

First, people tend to marry partners with similar levels of education to their own, meaning that women who have completed college are more likely to marry men who have also graduated from college.

Rates of breadwinning differ by the age of mothers and the age of their youngest child. Because the ages of children and their mothers are highly correlated, it is not surprising to see similar patterns across both variables. Mothers whose youngest child is age 5 or younger are less likely to be breadwinners for their families, although they are roughly as likely to be married co-breadwinners. Mothers with young children are split roughly in half between married and unmarried mothers, while breadwinning mothers of older children are slightly more likely to be unmarried.

This may reflect the fact that many unmarried mothers are divorced or otherwise estranged from their partners, rather than having never been married. Younger women are more likely to be breadwinners but less likely to be married co-breadwinners. Women, and especially mothers, tend to do the most caregiving in their households, even when they are also employed.

One important caveat to keep in mind is that while a significant number of mothers are breadwinners or co-breadwinners for their families, women continue to receive artificially depressed wages as a result of the gender wage gap. In , for example, the average full-time, year-round working woman earned Proposals such as the Paycheck Fairness Act—which would expand protections for women who experience pay discrimination, expand data collection, and increase accountability for employers who discriminate—are crucial to addressing gender wage inequality.

The United States remains the only advanced economy that does not guarantee women the right to paid maternity leave, and as of , only 16 percent of private sector workers had access to paid family leave through their employers, with even lower rates for workers at the bottom of the wage distribution. Losing income or leaving the workforce after experiencing a serious medical event or the need to provide family caregiving should not be the norm, as happens often in the United States.

While states are at the vanguard of this issue, a national solution is necessary to level the playing field for workers in other parts of the country.

The Family and Medical Insurance Leave FAMILY Act would create a national program to provide wage replacement to workers when they need time off to care for themselves, a seriously ill family member, or a new child.

In addition to longer-term paid family and medical leave to address serious illnesses and care needs, workers also need access to short-term leave if they or a family member come down with a less serious medical problem, such as a cold or the flu. The Healthy Families Act, first introduced in , would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year that could be used to recover from an illness, care for a sick family member, or access medical care.

Similarly, families need access to affordable, quality child care so that they can work. Child care is especially important to working mothers, who are much more likely to be employed when they find child care. The Child Care for Working Families Act would guarantee child care assistance for all low-income and middle-class families, ensuring that they do not spend more than 7 percent of their total income on child care.

The data analyzed here paint two different pictures. This picture looks rosy and, notably, reflects decades of positive advances made by women in the workplace and the broader culture. Breadwinning mothers are likely to be in low-income families, to be young, and to have very young children, and they are disproportionately more likely to be women of color who must address the interconnected issues of sexism and racism in their daily lives. Yet these women persist in supporting their families, generally without access to affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, pay equity, paid sick days, or any of the other host of supports that allow people to better juggle the demands of working while also raising a family and caring for others.

If women have come this far, and have made such great economic strides without sensible policy supports, the progress they could make if work-family policy in the United States caught up with the rest of the world is limitless. Sarah Jane Glynn is a freelance consultant and former senior policy adviser at the Center for American Progress.

Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, annual averages. Regional breakdowns are based on Census Bureau categories, as follows:. Anthony P. Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Raise the Wage Act , H. See Also How your city ranks for best work-life balance. Caitlin Mullen is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, N. Industries: Human Resources. Send this to a friend. Thank you for sharing.

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