BC Council for Families

A new study from the U.S. Pew Research Center on Social&Demographic Trends finds that “a strong majority of all working mothers (62%) say they would prefer to work part-time. Only 37% of working moms would prefer to work full-time.” Seventy-nine percent of dads, however, said they prefer to work full-time."

Why the difference? According to the Pew study, working moms experience more stress over meeting family demands and responsibilities. “For their part, most fathers are content to work full-time and few seem conflicted over their competing roles at work and at home,” the Pew study said. “Working women are left to wrestle with the competing demands of work and family.”

In a related finding, the study also uncovered that public opinion remains strongly in favor of mothers not working outside the home when their children are young: when asked whether a mother who works full time, part time, or not at all is best for young children, only 12% agreed that it's best for a young child that their mother works full time. Four in ten say the ideal situation for a young child is a mother who works part time, and 42% say what's best is if the mother doesn't work at all.

The study authors conclude that although “women are a permanent part of the workforce, ... public opinion hasn’t yet fully come to terms with the tradeoffs inherent in working and raising young children."