Lyndsey Cooper

Revision: 3/14/12
Final: 5/1/12
More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood
Major paper

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

Introduction
Women have spent many years fighting for their rights to be seen as equals. From the
right to vote to the equal pay act they have worked hard to get where they are today.
Unfortunately there is still much work to be done. Given the current state of the economy it is no
longer an option for either spouse to stay home with the kids, both parents must be working in
order to make ends meet. Its tough to find jobs that will offer flexible schedules and show
sympathy for working parents.
With budgets being tight within households and even tighter in single parent homes
finding decent childcare is a big problem. Some parents opt to have one stay at home instead of
bringing in extra income so that their children can be taken care of at home. Its even harder for
parents who have children with special needs; in some cases the simplest food allergy can
become life threatening when a child is not watched closely; But what about the single parents,
who helps them? This question leads me to wondering why there is not more government
assistance for better childcare.
Upon my researching the Glass Ceiling I kept coming back to the same question, what
can we do to change this problem? Over and over again I found that women are more likely than
men to look for a job that allows them the flexibility they need for their families. That being said
one can only assume the best solution would be to assist working parents. Finding jobs is hard
enough let alone finding jobs that are flexible for both men and women now days it is very tough.
Some employers are not as sympathetic toward single parents as one may hope.
It isnt unreasonable to hope that these realities can change quickly if we are willing to do
something about it. Employers should be assisting parents, becoming more concerned and
understanding about the well-being of our children, and they should help to take some of the

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

stress added to the lives of working parents because stress is one of the biggest health concerns
of our time. It would be to the employers advantages as well because the less stress their
employees carry the harder they will be willing to work
Although it would be ideal to leave such a task up to the government it is unreasonable
which leads my research in the direction of the employer. The ideal situation would be that
employers would offer childcare services, also unreasonable expectations because small
businesses or family owned companies may not have the means to provide such care. Which then
leads to the next question what are reasonable expectations for employers when it comes to child
care assistance? Flexible schedules are a good start, better benefits are an even better direction,
but the ultimate would be a programs to help pay for childcare.

Making the Decision

In a recent 2008 study researcher Kasey Buckles found that more and more women are
putting off their childbearing years in order to pursue better careers. Women are beginning to
delay their first births into their late twenties and some cases up to their mid-thirties. It was found
that the women who delayed were more educated and more likely to obtain professional or
managerial careers as well as have gained more skills and experience. (Buckles. 2008).
Now that the children of the Baby Boomer era have begun having children of their own
more and more of these new mothers are opting out of the traditional stay at home mother
position that many of their mothers had taken. More children are beginning to fill pre-school
classrooms throughout the country so that their mothers can work. The same goes for after
school care programs where children are cared for in large groups after school until the parents
can get off work. The absence of the mother from a childs life due to employment had begun to

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

become a concern for some however studies have shown that there were no positive or negative
impacts on the children. (S. L. Hofferth, D. A. Phillips. 2001).
As hard as it may be for some to understand there are some employees who work simply
because they enjoy their jobs. Several women stated in a study done by Braun et al that they
liked the sense of independence they received from pursuing careers of their own. It was said
that they believed that by working they werent taking anything away from their child but
teaching them responsibility instead, by working hard you can provide yourself rather than
waiting for things to fall into your lap. The women interviewed for this study all had children
under the age of five but came from several different ethnic groups, economic statuses, and
educational backgrounds. These woman considered their jobs to be liberating not only
financially but socially and emotionally as well. It was said that they are working for their
childrens futures as well as their own. (A. Braun et al. 2008).
There were also some women who had very different opinions. One woman from the UK,
a part time worker, with four children said I always said I would never go out to work if it
means I cant fetch my children, if I cant be there for them, so whatever Im doing in a day stops
at 3:30 until 8:30. I fetch them, give them supper, do homework, put them to bed, tidy up and
then I can do what I want again. Its their hours, they deserve it. Some of these women also
expressed concern in missing out on some of the thrills of having a child or for fear that they
would miss out on the connection between mother and child. These were some of the reasons
why they enjoyed staying home with their children. (A. Braun et al. 2008).

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

Support is a Necessity
Bolzendahl and Olafsdottir did a study on U.S. support for family policy. It was found
that the support of working mothers in the United States was significantly less than that of other
nations, one half and in some cases one third of that of other nations. It was stated that the
American women have the highest levels of employment in the word. They also found that
work/family values appear to matter less in the United States in comparison to other nations.
Americans do happen to support maternity leave and financial childcare benefits but there still
somehow manages to be a lack support within policy reforms. (C. Bolzendahl, S. Olafsdottir.
2008).
In Budig and Hodges paper on the motherhood penalty it states that women with higher
positions are able to afford better childcare giving them the advantage over women with lower
earnings who cannot. The reason for this is that employers know that if you have better childcare
you have more time to devote to your job. (Budig, M.J. & Hodges, M.J. 2010). Also in a study
done by Hoobler, Wayne and Lemmon they found that women with children show less career
success than men with children. (Hoobler, J.M. Wayne, S.A. & Lemmon, G. 2009).
In a study done by Lewis, Heaton, and Kagan about parents of disabled children, a
midwife explained that because her employer did not acknowledge her family demands creating
anxiety and reducing her morale and effectiveness at work. They also found that working part
time does not help a parent with flexibility issues. Some employers still do not show any
compassion for the parent if something is to come up within their family. Some parents even
stated that they were not allowed to receive phone calls or they were frowned upon in emergency
citations. The author points out that this suggest that commitments are ignored because of family

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

obligations as well as gives employers reason not to promote or train their employees. (Lewis, S.,
Kagan, C., & Heaton, P. 2000)
Conclusion
Concern for my own future was a huge factor in the fuel behind this research. What
happens when I become a working mother? Will I be able to maintain time with my child and
have a job that allows me to provide the best care I can for them, as well as leave me without
worry when they are left to be cared for by someone else when I cannot? These are the same
questions that are being asked by other people my age as well as working parents that not only
need an answer but need a solution as well.
The discussion of the mommy penalty is one of the most frightening things Ive ever
heard. Imagine being penalized at work for being a mother fewer pay increases or less of an
opportunity to advance; is that really fair? The thought of any woman being punished for trying
to provide for a child was beyond comprehension to me.
Research has been done proving that quality of work life and family life are strongly
related to good physical and mental health says a study done by Susan Lambert. She points out
that Freud has stated, Work and love are the two universal components of human experience
and self-development. She also points out that one can carry over from the other between work
and family life, especially in women. She explains the idea of the male model job meaning not
that the job is to be done by men but that these employees are expected to devote themselves to
the job and maintain a distinct separation between work and family life. This sort of structure
leaves many parents unable to fulfill obligations in the home. Rather than accommodating an
employees responsibilities in the home employers have become more focused on giving women
the same opportunities within the workplace as a man. (Lambert, S. J. 1993)

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

All of this being said I have come to the conclusion that the best solution may not
completely lie with one or the other but within a collaboration between the government and the
employer. If the government were to offer more assistance to the employers it would not only
help to decrease the gender wage gap but would also fuel the economy by giving more women
the opportunity to go back to work and dedicate more time to breaking the barriers within the
workplace. Such a plan could prevent women from having to wait so late in their lives to make
the decision to start a family after having further pursued an education; No longer would there be
a need to pick one over the other. The need for childcare assistance grows higher with each child
born and every struggling family, its time something was done about it.

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

Work Cited
Bolzendahl, C., & Olafsdottir, S. (2008). Gender group interest or gender ideology?
Understanding U.S. Support for family policy within the liberal welfare regime.
Sociological Perspectives, 51(2), 281-304. doi:10.1525/sop.2008.51.2.281
Buckles, K. (2008). Understanding the Returns to Delayed Childbearing for Working Women.
American Economic Review, 98(2), 403-407. doi:10.1257/aer.98.2.403
Budig, M. J. & Hodges, M. J. (2010). Differences in Disadvantage: Variation inn the
Motherhood Penalty across White Womens Earnings Distribution. American
Sociological Review, 75(5), 705-728. doi: 10.1177/0003122410381593
Hertz, R., & Ferguson, F. T. (1996). Childcare choice and constraints in the United States: Social
class, race and the influence of family views. Journal Of Comparative Family Studies,
27(2), 249-280.
Hofferth, S. L., & Phillips, D. A. (1987). Child Care in the United States, 1970 to 1995. Journal
Of Marriage & Family, 49(3), 559.
Hoobler, J.M., Wayne, S. A., & Lemmon, G. (2009). Bosses perceptions of family-work
conflict and womens promotability Glass Ceiling effects. Academy Of Management
Journal, 52(5), 939-957
Lambert, S. J. (1993) Workplace Polices as Social Policy, Social Service Review, 67(2). 237-260.
Lewis, S., Kagan, C., & Heaton, P. (2000). Managing work-family diversity for parents of
disabled children. Personnel Review, 29(3), 417.
Lowen, A., & Sicilian, P. (2009). Family-Friendly Fringe Benefits and the Gender Wage Gap.
Journal of Labor Research, 30(2), 101-119. doi: 10.1007/s12122-008-9046-1
Secret, M., & Sprang, G. (2001). The Effects of Family-Friendly Workplace Environments on

More than a Mommy: Maintaining Work and Motherhood

Cooper

Work-Family Stress of Employed Parents. Journal Of Social Service Research, 28(2), 2145.