A new Harvard Business School study should eliminate “working mom guilt”. Moms who work outside the home may be doing something really positive for their children. And that’s a good thing since nearly three-quarters of American mothers with children at home are employed.
The study reports daughters of working mothers are more likely to be employed, hold supervisory positions, and earn more money than daughters of non-employed moms. In the United States, daughters of working moms earned 23% more than daughters of stay-at-home mothers.
The working paper (pdf) published June 19 by the Harvard Business School also found that working moms also had a statistically significant effect on their sons. The sons are more likely to spend time caring for family members and doing household chores than are sons of stay-at-home moms. In fact, the sons here in the U.S. spent seven and a half more hours a week on child care and 25 minutes more on homework. The study did not show an influence on the careers of sons because there has always been an expectation for men to work outside the home.
We working moms seem to impart different attitudes towards gender roles to our children which have an impact on their attitudes towards work and home life. The researchers found that 33% of daughters of working mothers held supervisory roles, compared to only 25% of daughters of stay-at-home moms.
While the mommy wars may continue on some level, it is clear that having a working mothers has economic, educational and social benefits for children of both sexes.
