Daughters of working mums go on to earn more in better jobs

GROWING up with a working mum helps girls to achieve more, according to a worldwide study by Harvard Business School.
They’ve found that women whose mothers were employed outside of the home are more likely to be employed themselves, to have a higher position of responsibility in their workplace and to earn slightly more than women whose mothers were at home full time.
Researchers examined data from 24 countries across the world, including the UK and Spain, and in presenting their findings this week said they believe that having non-traditional gender role models could “gradually erode gender inequality in homes and labour markets.”
The study also found that women whose mums went out to work do less housework themselves than those who grew up with a stay-at-home mum, and that sons of working mums are more likely than their peers to spend time in their adult life caring for other family members.
And perhaps most promisingly, the researchers found that the children of working mums grow up to be less sexist than those who don’t.
According to their figures women whose mums were in paid employment went on to earn on average four per cent more than other women, and were “more likely to hold supervisory responsibility.”
Researchers are hopeful the study will help promote policies which support working mums, such as subsidised childcare, and remove some of the stigma still attached to women who choose to, or have to, go out to work.
The writers conclude: “We hope the findings from our research will promote respect for the spectrum of choices women and men make at home and at work. Whether Moms or Dads stay at home or are employed, part time or full time, children benefit from exposure to role models offering a wide set of alternatives for leading rich and rewarding lives.
“Giving children opportunities to see and know people—men and women—making lots of different choices at work and at home will help children see lots of options for success in their own lives at work and at home.”