To Work or Stay Home? An Economist Digs into the Research
Moms who stay home with their kids do make a difference, but if you decide that working outside the home is the right thing for you, you are by no means ruining your kid’s life.
Moms who stay home with their kids do make a difference, but if you decide that working outside the home is the right thing for you, you are by no means ruining your kid’s life.
The arts is an industry that professes to be so deep in empathy, but we are failing when it comes to caregiver support. What we’re seeing is that caregiver discrimination still exists because of the lack of universal support, the lack of education about discrimination issues, the lack of HR, the lack of consistency in employment.
Ruth was expecting to lose benefits when she went part time, she was able to retain health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid time off, thanks to a manager who advocated for her. Ruth says, “Recruiters have come to me just this week with offers, and I haven’t considered a single one. There’s no beating what my company has given me.” Ruth’s story proves an important point: when companies take employees’ family responsibilities seriously, everybody wins.
EEM’s review of Pamela Stone’s 2007 book, Opting Out. While most mothers interviewed for the book say they “chose” to opt out, Stone’s analysis finds the contrary: work factors in fact pushed them out.
In Being There, Erica Komisar pushes back against the prevailing commentary on what a mom should do once she has a baby is “find childcare and get back to life as normal.” Instead, Komisar argues that mothers should spend significant time being present with their children in the first three years of life—quitting their jobs if necessary. While this is obviously a big ask, Komisar maintains that a mother’s contribution to her children’s emotional health is invaluable, and she says that she is “not ready to give up on mothers” just yet. However, in the process she paints the commitment to “be there” in such extremes that she manages to offend just about everyone in the course of the book (including stay-at-home moms who are purportedly doing what she recommends).
By attempting to discuss what it means to “stay home with kids”, you will give us a much-needed break and perhaps learn a thing or two about a life different from yours.
Founder of Economic Equity for Moms analyzes Biden’s American Families Plan, and assesses which families will benefit most if the plan is passed.
From ER to At-Home: PA Puts Family First Judy completed ROTC in college and worked for four years in the Army before receiving training to become a Physician Assistant. In the 11 years between getting married and having her daughter, she and her husband taught English in China, ran races, and pursued educational goals. Judy …