Donna Stone portrayed the idealized role of a middle class mother and wife in during the late 1950’s in The Donna Reed Show. She was always well dressed and put together. She cooked and cleaned for her family and took care of the children. Flash forward 60 years later and the present day reality of a middle class mother could not be more different. From 1975 to 2009, the labor force rate of mothers with children 18 years old and younger changed from 47.5 percent to 71.6 percent (Bianchi, 2011). The work and family policies, however, have failed to change with the times are still very similar to what they were during the 1950’s (Blades & Rowe-Finkbeiner). This is an issue because with more mothers’ entering the workplace with no …show more content…
It is reported that the average working parent in America misses five to nine days a week due to issues with child care (Impact Brief One). Unfortunately it is difficult to find affordable childcare that fits all of a families needs. One of the biggest stressors and conflicts at home for families comes from trying to finance the necessary childcare. Bianchi explains that for the majority of the working class in the United States, family income is too high to earn government subsidized care, yet not high enough to afford high quality care. For example, full time center care for an infant in a center ranges from $4,863 to $16,430(Parents and the High Cost of Child Care 2013 Report). In addition, working mothers also face the issue of the family gap. Studies suggest that having a child decreases wages at ranges of 10% to 15% (Simonsen & Skipper). The wage gap between men and women has decreased over the past few decades, but the wage gap between women with children and women without keeps growing. A reason working mothers experience this family gap is because the United States has not changed it’s family policies regarding maternity leave and childcare. The countries that have developed policies for maternity leave and childcare have been more successful at closing the gender gap as well as the family gap (Waldfogel, 1998). This creates paying for childcare an even bigger burden and issue to solve.
The European countries follow completely
“14.2 million children under age 13 met federal requirements for child-care subsidies in 2011-2012. Of that number, 8.6 million were eligible under state policies. Yet only 1.5 million children actually received the subsidies. That means only 10.6 percent of the number of children meeting federal guidelines actually get the subsidy” (Davidson 2017). The question that will be answered throughout this paper is, how accessible is childcare in the United States? Child care is the care of children by a day-care center, babysitter, or other provider while parent/ parents/ or legal guardian is working. The median household income for the United States is $53,8895 (Census Bureau) and the average cost of childcare is between $10,000 and $16,000 (Hamm 2015). This means that childcare can cost families making the median income 30% of their annual income. Given that this is the median household income, half of households have an income that is below this costing them more than 30% of their income. The United States has excellent child care that is affordable for some, however, most low-income families are unable to afford it.
Simultaneously, the gender pay gap has financial effects not just on the women, yet their families too. Studies have shown that American families with children count on a women’s earnings as a massive part of their family’s income, and many are the head of the household. Data demonstrates that “seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force, with over 75 percent employed full-time. Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40 percent of households with children under 18 today, compared with 11 percent in 1960. Women’s participation in the U.S. labor force has climbed since WWII: from 32.7 percent in 1948 to 56.8 percent in 2016” (Dewolf). Now women make up more than half of the U.S. workforce, the gap in earning deciphers to $7968 per year in median earnings for a high school graduate, $11,616 for a college graduate, and $19,360 for a professional school graduate. By and large, this gap effects hundreds of millions of women and their families, and lag them back hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout their life.
In her interviews with woman she was sure to interview very well educated women and those that strived for mere perfection. One thing is that the men in the lives of these women were not supportive and not mentioned of much. The men and society of today have placed a lot of responsibility on a woman’s shoulders when it comes to the child. It is the woman who makes the decision or is given the task to make the heavy decisions regarding the child’s future. Because of this many women choose to stay at home to be sure that the children will receive everything that they deserve and that they are not lacking in any area. Another issue that she reviews is that employers do not work with moms at all. For example she talked about the scenario where two moms brought a solution to their problem to management yet it failed to receive approval instead one mother was offered more money (Guest, 2011). Employers are not very flexible when it comes to mothers and don’t provide the proper care that is needed for a child. Since men are the ones that don’t carry the responsibility of the child’s well-being having proper day care is not a factor for them. Then there is the cost of day care which is high and can at times not compare to what the individual is making.
For example, becoming a mother and having to deal with motherly responsibilities can take an abundance of time out of the hours in which they could be earning money, thus “[skewing] pay-gap statistics, as they decrease the average total hours worked by women” (Cholensky 16). Working mothers spend at least twelve unpaid weeks on maternity leave. Regardless, an abundance of mothers need more time to bond with and take care of her newborn baby. There is a term that was coined for this exact disadvantage; the motherhood penalty. This argues that working mothers encounter disadvantages in pay, perceived competence, and benefits relative to childless women. However “ fathers earn somewhat more than childless men with the same characteristics—referred to as a fatherhood bonus” (Misra 27). Fathers and mothers may both work the same amount of hours and have very similar jobs, but the father will almost always get paid more than the working mother. This is because assumptions have made it so that women take responsibility of household chores and take care of their families. In the past, male counterparts have made the money to support their families and households. Standards in society have also been made, which influence the decisions that couples make in their
Krashinsky begins his argument by acknowledging the fact that a clear majority of mothers with young children are working, and the rate at which this is occurring has grown consistently since 1976. This is a direct result of the feminist movement, as a combination of factors such as higher pay, less discrimination, and more schooling, has resulted in young women beginning to view a life in the workplace as normal. As a result of this, many mothers are not going to stop working unless a policy offers them a significant sum, which would undoubtedly cost more than the best childcare program available. Instead of trying to prevent mothers from working, we should encourage them
Child care facilities have become very expensive and difficult for women to afford this service. Child care facilities have become difficult for parents to support financially. In Brampton, child care account for 36% of the mother’s income (CCPA, 2014, 6). The province of Quebec has found success by reducing the cost of their child care services through the 7$ a day policy, and due to this policy, the number of women in the labour force has increased between 8 and 12 percent higher than it would have without the policy (CCPA, 2014, 7). Investing into affordable child care will reduce the wage gap by allowing more women to be able to work without the burden of the cost of child
Two scholars from American Enterprise Institute, Mark Perry and Andrew Biggs, share similar opinions with Schlafly about child bearing and its impact. Mark Perry and Andrew Biggs wrote the article titled, “The ’77 Cents on the Dollar’ Myth About Women’s Pay”. Perry and Biggs agree with Schlafly that having children does not benefit women’s salaries and the gender wage gap. Biggs and Perry claim that when mothers leave the workforce to take care of their children it creates a disadvantage to them. They explain that when the mothers return the workforce, “they have less work experience than similarly-aged males” (5). They correlate experience with wages; saying that new mothers will not have as much experience, which will lead to a smaller paycheck when they return. Perry and Biggs also argue that new mothers are less appealing to employers because their male counter-parts who are of similar age, will have more experience than them (5). The employers may feel that the new mothers may not be as qualified or become as successful as a man. Ultimately, like Schlafly they argue that women who choose to have children are willingly creating part of the wage gap because they are choosing to have limited experience in exchange for
Pregnancy and early child development is a fundamental aspect of human society, and is pertinent to the development of a successfully functioning community. The developmental and social progress of any civilization relies on children, as they will compose the future working population. Therefore, a mother or father’s involvement in the child’s development is of extreme importance, which is why family leave has been implemented all over the world. Family leave refers to the period of time granted to the employee to care for their newborn child. As communities evolve economically, financial stability is necessary, for what is perceived to be socially successful for a child’s development, which is why paid family leave is popular throughout the world’s nations. However, ABC News reports that “the U.S. is only one of three countries in the world that don't offer paid maternity leave” (Kim, 2015); the same is true for paternity leave. The United States government has an interesting track record dealing with family leave, but in order to analyze what the US government and advocacy groups have done to solve this issue, there first needs to be an understanding on why this issue is so difficult to resolve. The arguments that support and oppose paid family leave in the United States are equally valid, therefore causing a stalemate in the attempted policy making of legislative bodies.
The Urban Institute published a case study that promotes the creation of national paid family leave policy in the United States. In the study, it is shown that this issue has been debated countless times in the past. George H.W. Bush even vetoed an unpaid family leave act during his presidency. This displays the struggles of enacting policy relating to this issue. The lack of a national paid family leave program in the US has left working mothers with three options: “return to work immediately after childbirth, quit employment, or take unpaid leave” (Urban Institute, 2017, p.3). The issue with these options include, loss of pay, unemployment, or the lack of parental presence in a child’s early development. Moreover, although some private companies offer paid leave, less educated and lower income mother have little access to this paid leave, which exacerbates their financial instability, keeping them in a lower societal class. This study found that not only is the current system is inadequate, but it is also inequitable, which causes financial hardships across the nation. According to the study, there has even been a 32% decrease in income after childbirth. Although this is the current situation, some states have enacted a statewide paid family leave program, which displays
Poverty remains a topic of discussion of every political debate, and the focus of many politicians and public health activists. Yet, thirty seven million Americans still live below the official poverty level.1 With a focus of work, when exploring the topic of poverty, three types can be identified: the unemployed, the working poor, and those not in the labor market (people with disabilities and retired seniors). In order to cut poverty in half, jobs need to be made available, work must pay, reduction of obstacles to work, and a need to help seniors and adults with disabilities.2 One very large and influential obstacle preventing work, is childcare. By expanding assistance and access to childcare for low-income families, we not only promote
The maternity leave laws make it difficult for women to not only have a child but be punished the workplace for having a child by not getting promotions, pay, and proper support. In an article by Abby McCloskey she explain, “The united states is the the only state in the developed world without a national paid-maternity-leave program. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that employers offer twelve weeks of job-protected leave to workers for family-related issues. But 40 percent of working women are ineligible, owing to the act’s various restrictions. Moreover, because it is unpaid, many mothers cannot afford to take this leave even if they are eligible to do so” (McCloskey 20). These lack of benefits have a direct impact on the financial situation women face around the world. Imagine being a single mother with the expenses of a new born baby with no pay check, benefits, or finical security. Making maternity leave benefits more of a priority in the United States will not only help solve the gender inequality problem but it will help prevent single mother avoid
The labor force of the United States has changed drastically over the last forty years. According to the Department of Labor, in 2012, 64% of woman with children under the age of six are in the labor force. While only 34% of mothers were working in 1970 (Gullekson, Griffeth, Vancouver, Kovner, & Cohen, 2014). Furthermore, in 1974, 80% of kids under the age 17 were cared for by a parent (Morrissey & Warne, 2011). Given this dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce, there is a considerable amount of time missed by the working parent. On average, American working parents miss nine days of work per year and that number increases to thirteen as the child moves through daycare and into elementary school. Breakdowns in childcare cost businesses three billion dollars annually (Shellenback, 2004). Given these staggering numbers the demand for reliable and affordable childcare has never been bigger.
The Cadburys were an ideal example of how a middle class family could succeed during the industrial revolution. In Western England, the Cadbury family owned a small cloth and dry goods store, which flourished because of the industrial revolution. The Cadbury retail store ran by Richard and Elizabeth Cadbury, benefited greatly from the new sources of supply and expanding demand for cloth. This demand was derived from the industrial revolution making materials readily available to the public. The industrial revolution also brought more people into cities, resulting in more people able to buy these cheaper-newer items.
The United States is one of the only five countries in the world that does not mandate paid maternity leave for working women (Gilson). This causes a number of logistical and economic problems for many women in our country. Some women are forced to leave their jobs simply because they do not have any other reasonable alternatives for caring for their newborn babies. Other women may take unpaid leave, which leads to personal financial difficulties. Meanwhile, some women are forced to go back to work early, even though they may not have fully recovered from giving birth.
Access to paid leave is often identified as an issue that primarily concerns working mothers, yet paid leave is also critically important for working fathers. In a society that continues to evolve, it is even more imperative to address this unequal access with an increasing number of fathers who are serving as stay at home parents (International Labor Organization, 2014). Legislation that supports fathers having the support they need to prioritize family responsibilities can significantly increase the personal and economic well-being of their growing families (United States Department of Labor, 2015). Despite these advantages, the growing importance of paternal involvement with their newborns is not always supported in today’s society. The economic and social barriers fathers face may hinder them from taking paternity leave altogether, such as inadequate access to paid leave and outdated cultural norms about male breadwinners. According to survey data, most fathers in the United States only take one day of leave time for every month the typical mother takes (Harrington et al., 2014). This means that even in the twenty-first century, it appears to be more widely accepted for mothers to take off time from work to care for their families than fathers. Fewer than half the countries in the world provide men with access to paid leave to care for a new child, while virtually all provide paid maternity leave (ILO, 2014). Paid paternity leave and laws related to promote