New study finds how much raising a child affects careers

When it comes to raising children men and women have different perspectives on the division of household labourfrom cooking meals to offering emotional supportreveals a new poll from the Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of ChicagoThe new study also reveals important differences in how men and women perceive the impact of having a child on job security and workplace success Mothers are more likely to say they perform more of the household responsibilities while fathers are more likely to say they share the responsibilities equally with their partnersYana Gallen asst prof says In fact 35 per cent of mothers reported doing more than their partner for each of the eight household responsibilities asked about on the survey compared to just 3 per cent of fathers who reported the sameAlthough the gap between what mothers and fathers report is significant it is not what either anticipates before they have childrenand thats what is so interesting said Yana at the Harris School of Public Policy who studies the gender pay gap Prior to becoming parents most men and women expect that they will share the division of labour equally across all household activities but their views on whether that is actually the case diverge after they have a childThe perceived impacts of having a child are also relevant to the workplace where half of the adults who have been employed say having a child is an obstacle to employee advancement and about 4 in 10 say the same regarding job security and the opportunity for a raiseAmericans perspectives on children in the workplace are tied to gender as well with 47 per cent of women saying that having a child is an obstacle for job security compared to 36 per cent of men Similarly adults making less than 50000 a year are more likely than higherincome adults to say having a child is an obstacle for job security 50 per cent vs 35 per cent and job advancement 55 per cent vs 46 per centWomen and lowerincome Americans are especially likely to feel they are paying a penalty at work for becoming a parent said David Sterrett a senior research scientist with the APNORC Center Whether it comes in the form of limited job choices because of the need for a schedule that accommodates parenting or having less job security these groups feel they are missing out on career opportunities compared to their coworkers without children The poll also finds that in order to manage their work and personal lives twothirds of adults have chosen a job with a schedule that allows them to manage their other responsibilities and 6837 get support from friends or familyAnd when thinking about whether to have a child more than 8 in 10 Americans say having a stable partner and having a secure job are important factors that they consider Prior to becoming parents most men and women expect that they will share the division of labour equally across all household activitiesAmong the key findings from the reportFortythree per cent of adults without a college degree say having a child is an obstacle to getting a raise while 32 per cent of adults with a college degree say the sameParents are more likely than nonparents to have chosen a job with a schedule such that they can manage their personal responsibilities spent less time at their job to focus on friends or family and to have made sure they had the support of friends or familyWomen are more likely than men to have chosen a job with a schedule such that they can manage their personal responsibilities 70 per cent vs 61 per cent and made sure they had the support of friends or family 73 per cent vs 64 per centNearly threequarters of Americans without children 74 per cent say having enough savings is an important factor when thinking about their decision whether or not to have children compared to 59 per cent of parents who said it was importantWomen are more likely than men to say flexibility at work is important when thinking about whether or not to have a child 74 vs 66 per centThis study was conducted by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research with funding from NORC at the University of ChicagoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever