Working mothers influence the outcomes of their children

Working mothers influence the outcomes of their children - male and female children

Working mothers influence the outcome of their children, both male and female children. Working mothers have daughters who are more educated and higher earners than daughters of non-working mothers. Working mothers have sons who do more housework and childcare than sons of non-working mothers. These results are according to a gender and employment survey of 25 developed countries (Canberra Times 18, May 2015).

The International Social Survey Program of the Harvard Business School released their findings of their gender division survey on May 17, 2015. The survey involved more than 50,000 adults from 25 developed countries, including Australia.

The findings showed that daughters of working mothers were more educated, having completed more years of formal education than daughters of non-working mothers. The daughters earned more money and were more likely to be employed in senior roles. In the study, 69% of women with a working mother were employed with 22% of them in supervisory roles, compared with 66% and 18% for women raised by stay-at-home mothers. The daughters of working mothers earned 6% more than those from mothers who did not work outside the home.

Having a working mother did not affect the careers of their sons. However their sons spent more time on childcare (looking after their siblings) and domestic chores. Sons of working mothers spent an extra hour caring for their brothers and sisters each week than sons of stay-at-home mothers, and they devoted 17 minutes more per week to domestic chores than sons from non-working mothers.

The researchers also found that the division of paid and unpaid work among children of working mothers was more likely to lead to more stable marriages. They concluded that male support at home encouraged a woman’s participation in the workforce, and that this might lead to more stable marriages.

Australia was ranked in the middle of the 25 countries on attitudes to gender. The Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were among the most egalitarian, whereas Chile, Mexico, the Philippines, and Russia were among the most conservative on gender issues.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog