CHILDREN ARE THE KEY FACTOR IN EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS

Gallup asked women who are not in the workforce (and not retired) about why they are not employed. Among women without children, the responses are equally distributed across economic and experience factors. For example, 22% of these women say they don’t work because they don’t need to earn money, and 21% say they don’t work because they have been without a job for too long. For women with children, however, the real motivator is their kids. More than half of women (54%) who do not work and who have a child younger than 18 say their desire to stay home with their children is a “major reason” why they are not working. Other factors are considerably less relevant, including the need to earn money, the cost of childcare and the ability to find a good job. Children are a tough act to follow, and some women won’t return to the workforce when they become mothers. They simply want to stay home with their children. But some stay-at-home mothers might consider returning to work if the workplace was more accommodating. When asked, 53% of stay-at-home mothers say flexible hours or work schedules are a “major factor” in their ability to take a job. Four in 10 stay-at-home mothers say the same about being able to work from home when necessary. Pay is somewhat less of an issue for this group. Thirty-four percent of stay-at-home mothers say earning enough money to pay for childcare is a “major factor” in their employment decisions. These stay-at-home mothers seem to be less concerned about a paycheck than they are about having the flexibility to be able to do things like pick up their kids from school

CHILDREN CHANGE WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES

Of course, many mothers do work. However, the majority of working mothers would prefer to stay at home and take care of their house and family. Among mothers who are currently employed either full or part time, 40% say they would prefer to work outside the home, and 54% would prefer to stay home. The figures are almost identical among mothers who aren’t currently employed: 37% would prefer to work outside the home, while 57% would rather stay home.