Work-Family Life . Over The Past Century A Large Number

In today’s economy, it is a hard fact that many women will have to enter the workforce. In her article for The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t have it All”, Anne-Marie Slaughter examines the difficulties faced by women who either have children or would someday like to do so. Having given up on the task of holding a high powered government position while being the mother of a teenager, her kairotic moment, the author discusses the changes that would be necessary in order for women to find a real work-life balance. Although Slaughter 's target audience is primarily women who seek high powered positions, the article contains ample information that should appeal to both men who seek to balance the needs of a growing family with their work responsibilities, as well as workplace policy makers who could help usher in the necessary changes. Her goal in sharing her experiences is to argue that women can succeed at the very top level of their organizations, “But not today, not with the way America’s economy and society are currently structured” (Slaughter).

In Judith Stadtman Tuckers “The Least Worst Choice: Why Mothers Opt out of the Work Place” Judith Stadtman Tucker looks at why hard working, intelligent woman are choosing to leave their high end jobs to stay at home with their children. Judith Stadtman Tucker expresses her option that it is nearly impossible to work 40 hours a week, be available on your off hours as well as raise children. I fully agree with Judith Stadtman Tucker’s point of view that it is absurd to have to be at the mercy of your employer even in your off hours, nor less if you are attempting to create an emotional connection and successfully raise a child. It is no question that even in today’s modern society that it is assumed that woman are the best caregivers for young children. If you are put in a position where you have a child to raise, is it more appropriate to abandon your career or to emotionally abandon your child to a stranger or strangers and allow them to raise it? Judith Stadtman Tuckers argument against mothers having to choose between the joys of parenthood and the freedom of being able to work a career really speaks to me because it makes me consider what I want for my own future and what I would choose.

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

Suzanne Bianchi, John Robinson and Melissa Milkie’s Changing Rhythms of American Family Life were able to document that “mothers are spending as much time with the children as forty years ago, fathers were doing more at home and there is more gender equality” (Bianchi et al 2006, 169). In their data it showed the trend of workloads for both fathers and mothers to have increased “from 55 to 64 estimated weekly hours between 1965 and 2000 households with married parents” (Bianchi et al 2006, 171). This could attributed to that there was a big change that occurred that allowed more women and mothers to enter the workforce. Corresponding to the female participants in my sample that want to continue to work and further their career. Furthermore,

Today approximately 13. 7 million single parents in America with 82.2% of them being single mothers as told by Time Magazine, these mothers all somewhat attempt to make ends meet even though women earn 30% less money than men. This derives from the lingering opinion that women are less able to conduct work than men or the opinion that women should solely be kept at home as housewives, cooking and cleaning. However, single mothers ranging from Mary Ann Moore, who works 10 hour shifts to help support her four children, to Angel Gordan mother of six who has no job, these women find ways to make ends meet. Women carry in their bodies’ the future minds of America. They labor

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.

Women in the work force suffer a great deal with multiple consequences for not only being a woman, but for being a mother as well, either married or unmarried. Research shows that mothers pay substantial wage penalties for having children. The average penalty one study found is 5% to 10% per child among women in their 20s and 30s (Anderson et al., 2003; Budig & England, 2001; Waldfogel, 1997). The motherhood penalty differs with race and ethnicity. Studies show that white women pay larger motherhood wage penalties than African Americans (Neumark & Korenman 1994; Waldfogel 1997). For African American mothers, only married mothers with more than two children will pay the wage penalty. African American mothers who have never been married do not pay a wage penalty. For White women, all mothers pay the wage penalty, married, never-married, and divorced, as long as they have at least one or two children (Glauber

The situation and view of women has greatly improved over the years in America. Women now have equal access to education, increased participation in politics and the labor market, access to birth control, resources against domestic violence, and other equal rights. Women now have the freedom to decide on the role and impact they want to have to society, which was decided for them in the past. Women can work to gain financial independence or decide to get married and have income to support her family. Families that are earning two salaries can afford the better education for their children and enjoy a higher standard of living. One drawback of a woman and father both working is how it may affect their children. In some situation when both parents become career driven, they will have less time to take on the parenting role. This could have a negative impact the children if proper child care services is not provided for them. To prevent this many married adults who both have desires to advance in their occupation, the decision to have kids will often be postponed until each parent finds a more stable position in

When looking at women who left their careers to stay home and raise children, “[a Wharton Business School] study revealed that 43% of the women surveyed stayed out the workforce longer than they expected, and 87”% of those who initially never planned to return to work changed their minds, whether due to economic pressures or a reawakened desire for professional challenge” (Young, 47). Many women in these situations are forced to justify their time away from the professional world and their previous work experience is

Incomes in the U.S. are currently falling, particularly among low-income families. Because one income is no longer enough to support the family, it is now necessary for many women to bring home a paycheck as well. (Warner 27). Having young children while working is difficult for many women in the U.S. workplace. In fact, thirty-five percent of U.S. women have cited work and family balance as their largest, single concern (Appelbaum and Milkman 8). For this reason, many developed countries around the world devote resources to providing for their young families because they are aware of the role that women play in sustaining the country. In 2014, eleven countries provided at least one hundred weeks of protected leave and the majority of

Budge, a sociology professor has found that on average for every birth a woman suffers a 4% salary decrease while men receive a 6% pay raise, increasing the pay gap between genders (see Figure 2). It is believed that this change in pay is due the fact that women are more likely to make their family their first priority. Many women, after having a child, attempt to find a job with more flexible hours, which may force them to change to a lower paying job. Mothers may also be exhausted and distracted at their job, compromising their ability to work. There is a stigma against mothers by employers. They assume that a mother’s focus will be on her family instead of her job, which if true, would result in lower quality work and deserving of a lower salary. At the same time, men are more likely to work more after their child is born to fill the financial burden that results from children. Men are viewed positively by employers, unlike women, when they become parents. These stigmas would decrease if paid leave was offered because mothers would be able to focus on their children directly after birth. After their leave is over, women are then better able to balance work and family without financial

Additionally, decisions of how to combine intensive mothering and paid work become a form of “doing security” for the family, and this “security work” is disproportionately occupied and performed by women: Women act as the “family’s security guards…charged with keeping insecurity at bay while their husbands [are] comparatively less burdened” (Cooper, 2014). Because women’s wage work has historically been devalued and women have always been defined as tied to the home (Dillaway and Pare, 2008; Kessler-Harris, 2001), there has been an uninterrupted, longstanding link

In the past 30 years, one of the most dynamic social changes in the history of the United States has taken place in the area of employment, specifically of women with children. Although, to some degree there have always been employed mothers, today a greater proportion of mothers are employed than ever before. Statistics show that in 1976, 48% of the population of women categorized as “married women with children” were employed and it increased to 62% in 1986 just 10 years later. What are the causes for this and how does it affect the children?

Woman are the birth givers of the world and they are penalized of doing so. More often than not, a first time mother will have to leave their job to take care of their new child. That by itself is not a problem, but the repercussions of doing so can last for years after a constant care is no longer needed. Ashley Nelson, who wrote in “Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom” the troubles a mother runs into when trying to balance a job and having a family. Stay-at-home mothers take massive hits to their personal careers, they are under constant scrutiny by the media, and they do not receive as many benefits as some other countries that allows mothers to return to their work force.