Most US working moms prefer part-time jobs
Friday, 13 July 2007
NEW YORK, July 12 (AP): A sharply increasing portion of America's working mothers say their ideal situation would include a part-time job, rather than working full time or staying at home, a new national survey finds.
The Pew Research Centre survey, being released Thursday, found that only 21 per cent of working mothers with children under 18 viewed full-time work as the best arrangement, down from 32 per cent in 1997.
Sixty per cent of the working mothers said a part-time Cary Funk, a Pew researcher on the survey, said the trend reflected women's latest thoughts on the ideal arrangement for their children.
"I don't think it means people are going to give up their jobs," she said. "It's more of an expression of the difficulties of combining responsibilities at work and home."
The survey also found a shift in preferences among stay-at-home mothers.
Only 16 per cent of them said their ideal situation would be to work full-time outside the home, down from 24 per cent in 1997. Conversely, 48 per cent of them now say that not working at all outside the home is the best arrangement, up from 39 per cent who felt that way in 1997.
Fathers with children under 18 had a different outlook - 72 per cent said the ideal situation for them is a full-time job, 12 per cent said they would prefer part-time work and 16 per cent said not working at all outside the home would be best.
The survey was conducted by telephone in February and March among a national sample of 2,020 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points for the full sample, higher for various subgroups. The Pew survey found a division of opinion between working and stay-at-home mothers as to whether it's good or bad for society that so many mothers work outside the home.
The Pew Research Centre survey, being released Thursday, found that only 21 per cent of working mothers with children under 18 viewed full-time work as the best arrangement, down from 32 per cent in 1997.
Sixty per cent of the working mothers said a part-time Cary Funk, a Pew researcher on the survey, said the trend reflected women's latest thoughts on the ideal arrangement for their children.
"I don't think it means people are going to give up their jobs," she said. "It's more of an expression of the difficulties of combining responsibilities at work and home."
The survey also found a shift in preferences among stay-at-home mothers.
Only 16 per cent of them said their ideal situation would be to work full-time outside the home, down from 24 per cent in 1997. Conversely, 48 per cent of them now say that not working at all outside the home is the best arrangement, up from 39 per cent who felt that way in 1997.
Fathers with children under 18 had a different outlook - 72 per cent said the ideal situation for them is a full-time job, 12 per cent said they would prefer part-time work and 16 per cent said not working at all outside the home would be best.
The survey was conducted by telephone in February and March among a national sample of 2,020 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points for the full sample, higher for various subgroups. The Pew survey found a division of opinion between working and stay-at-home mothers as to whether it's good or bad for society that so many mothers work outside the home.