Study: More Moms Working, Not Staying Home

Stereotypes Be Damned: Anecdotes notwithstanding, professional women aren’t leaving the workforce in record numbers to become stay-at-home moms. In fact, precisely the opposite is taking place: Women with children are working more now than ever, according to a new national study. Sociologist Christine Percheski of Princeton University studied U.S. Census data to uncover several key findings. For instance, the number of full-time working mothers born from 1966 to 1975 has risen to 38 percent, compared with 5.6 percent of working mothers born from 1926 to 1935. Among mothers with children ages 6 to 18, full-time employment is the norm.

Percheski says women have made “steep gains” in employment levels over time, and particularly for mothers of young children and women in male-dominated professions. Less than 8 percent of women born since 1956 leave the workforce for a year or more during their prime childbearing years. Reports of women opting out of the workforce in widespread numbers are overblown, Percheski says. However, participating in the labor force comes with a cost: Percheski notes that balancing work and motherhood often means women curtail their sleep, civic involvement or leisure time. The study was published in the June issue of the American Sociological Review.