For working parents in the U.Southward., the challenge of juggling careers and family life continues to exist a front-burner result – one that is beingness recognized by a growing number of employers who have adopted family-friendly policies such as paid leave. Simply while few Americans want to see a return to traditional roles of women at home and men in the workplace, one reality persists: Women well-nigh frequently are the ones who adjust their schedules and make compromises when the needs of children and other family members collide with piece of work, Pew Research Center data show.

In a 2013 survey, we found that mothers were much more likely than fathers to report experiencing meaning career interruptions in order to attend to their families' needs. Part of this is due to the fact that gender roles are lagging backside labor force trends. While women correspond most half of the U.S. workforce, they still devote more time than men on average to housework and kid care and fewer hours to paid work, although the gap has narrowed significantly over fourth dimension. Among working parents of children younger than 18, mothers in 2013 spent an average of 14.2 hours per week on housework, compared with fathers' 8.half dozen hours. And mothers spent 10.vii hours per week actively engaged in child care, compared with fathers' seven.ii hours.

Very Few Americans Say Full-Time Working Mom Is Ideal for Young Children

Another gene is the way that guild views the bond between mothers and their children. In a 2012 Pew Research survey, the vast majority of Americans (79%) rejected the notion that women should return totheir traditional role in society. However when they were asked what is best for young children, very few adults (16%) said that having a mother who works full fourth dimension is the "platonic situation." Some 42% said that having a mother who works office fourth dimension is platonic and 33% said what'due south all-time for young children is to have a mother who doesn't piece of work at all. Even amidst full-time working moms, only about one-in-five (22%) said that having a full-fourth dimension working mother is platonic for immature children.

When asked what's best for women themselves, the public expressed a similar sentiment. Only 12% of adults said the ideal situation for women with immature children is to piece of work total time. About half (47%) said working office fourth dimension is ideal for these women, while 33% said non working at all would exist the all-time situation.

The public applies a much unlike standard to fathers. When we asked about the ideal situation for men with young children, fully 7-in-ten adults said working full fourth dimension would exist platonic for these fathers. One-in-five adults said office-time work would be ideal and merely 4% said it would be best for these dads not to work at all.

In reality, the "ideal" situation is not always the most practical, nor is information technology always attainable. In fact, according to U.S. government data, 64% of mothers with children younger than vi are in the labor force, and amidst working mothers, 72% work full time.

Mothers, More Than Fathers, Experience Career InterruptionsOne consequence is that while 42% of mothers with some work experience reported in 2013 that they had reduced their work hours in guild to care for a child or other family member at some point in their career, only 28% of fathers said the same. Similarly, 39% of mothers said they had taken a significant amount of time off from work in club to care for a family member (compared with 24% of men). And mothers were near 3 times every bit likely as men to report that at some betoken they quit a task so that they could care for a family member (27% of women vs. 10% of men).

It'southward of import to annotation that when nosotros asked people whether they regretted taking these steps, the resounding respond was "No." Nonetheless, it's besides important to note that women who had experienced these interruptions were much more probable than men to say that this had a negative bear on on their career. For example, women who took time off at some indicate in their work life to care for a kid or other family member were twice as likely as men who did the same to say that this injure their career overall (35% vs. 17%). Similarly, amid those who took a meaning amount of time off from work to look after a family member, 32% of women compared with 18% of men said doing this injure them professionally.

According to many economists, family unit-related career interruptions can undermine women's economical prospects in a variety of ways, by contributing to the gender wage gap and by narrowing the pipeline that feeds top-level jobs. Of course, for lots of women these interruptions may serve equally the catalyst to a more counterbalanced life which may in plough outweigh whatsoever lost financial benefits.

In her new book "Unfinished Concern: Women, Men, Work, Family," Anne-Marie Slaughter raises many of these issues, and in a contempo New York Times article, Slaughter said that what is needed in order to change individual workplaces is a "culture change: fundamental shifts in the way we retrieve, talk and confer prestige." Our data suggest that a generational shift, if non a culture alter, may be coming. When nosotros asked young adults (ages eighteen to 32) who don't yet have children whether they anticipate that becoming a parent will go far harder or easier for them to advance in their chore or career, young men were simply as likely every bit young women to say that children will likely slow downwardly their career advancement (roughly 60% in each grouping). This suggests that Millennial men may be entering their careers with a unlike prepare of expectations virtually what balancing family life and work will entail.

At the same time, though, among young adults with children, women are much more likely than men to say being a working parent makes it harder for them to get alee at piece of work (58% of Millennial moms say this, versus 19% of Millennial dads).

These issues raise anew debates over authorities and workplace policies designed to back up parents and families. While the national conversation continues, working parents across America volition continue to juggle their many responsibilities – making time for caregiving along the way.

Kim Parker is director of social trends research at Pew Inquiry Center.