Women in the Workforce

Since the proportion of mothers participating in the paid workforce has increased dramatically over recent years, women in the workforce have emphasized that the main problem they find the hardest is finding the balance between work and family life. As a result, a great deal of research attention has been paid to the impact of mother's employment on family life and on the wellbeing of children and parents. Research shows evidence that women continue to bear primary responsibilities for home and child care in spite of their entry in the labor force (Berardo, Shehan, & Leslie, 1987; Pleck, 1985).
In today's time, many families must have the earning of two workers in order to survive. Therefore, a large amount of women chose to enter the work force is primarily for economic reasons. On the other hand, there is also evidence that women enjoy paid work and are better off economically and psychologically if they enter the labor force. Several surveys have asked working women whether they would choose to stay home or continue working in the labor market if they were financially secure or could have the same income by remaining at home. Roughly two thirds of employed women said in such circumstances they would choose to continue to work (Bartos, 1982).
Taking a look at a case study, in 1986 Mothers in the Workplace (MITW) investigated what employers can do to help employed childbearing women balance the demands of work and family life. They conducted face to face interviews with more than 2600 women in 27 states during the last trimester of pregnancy (68 percent were still working at the time), and face to face or telephone interviews with almost 2000 of these same women approximately four to seven months following childbirth. They also studied on family relevant workplace policies and practices that may influence the labor force participation and workplace experience of childbearing women. Such as: Maternity lave policies, related benefits, flexible time policies and... [continues]

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