New survey: Most moms don’t want to work full-time. Collective “d’uh” heard ’round the world
Posted
July 13, 2007 at
10:34 am by
Prescott
New survey results from the Pew Research Center look at trends over the last decade and they’ve concluded that most mothers who work full-time outside their home really don’t want to:
Among working mothers with minor children (ages 17 and under), just one-in-five (21%) say full-time work is the ideal situation for them, down from the 32% who said this back in 1997, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Fully six-in-ten (up from 48% in 1997) of today’s working mothers say part-time work would be their ideal, and another one-in-five (19%) say she would prefer not working at all outside the home.
I’ve already heard the host on a conservative talk show this morning trying to spin these results as a “return to family values,” and asking what happened to all the feminists that talked of “empowerment for the working woman”. That the survey shows that most women want to be in the “traditional” role of homemaker and ditch the male-dominated rat race.
What bullshit. Let’s base this in a little more solid Occam’s Razor reality, shall we? How many of you out there that work full-time — no matter what your gender — do it by choice? Being able to do something you love and get paid for it is a rare thing, and there are only so many openings for exciting jobs like rock star, firefighter, or insurance agent. I think it’s safe to say that most moms and dads would leave behind the world of stolen staplers and TPS reports if given the opportunity.
Tags: News-&-Politics, Parenting, SAHMs, wahms |
3 Responses to “New survey: Most moms don’t want to work full-time. Collective “d’uh” heard ’round the world”
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1. Tess said:
August 3, 2007 @ 9:26 pm
I’ve been a stay at home mum and a work 3 days a week mum and I definately prefer the part time role!
2. Jessica said:
August 4, 2007 @ 7:34 am
I’m one of those freak-of-nature-moms that actually enjoys working. I like having interaction with different age groups of adults.
I always liked what a previous boss told me one time, in regards to being a working mom, “I go to work to get some rest.”
3. Susan said:
August 4, 2007 @ 11:18 pm
Jessica, I’m with you. I need to be away from my kids for a period of time, and I need to talk to other adults…especially those who can talk about more than stories of their own kids. I know, I know: what kind of mother am I?!
I used to work full-time because I wanted to (for the most part). Now I work full-time because I have to, being a single mother. I’d love to go part-time, so I could spend more time with the kids with more leeway in my schedule. Or, frankly, I’d like to win the lottery, write a best-selling novel, or marry a rich man so I could quit altogether. not sure my odds are very good for any of those…