One Third of Women Choose Children over Career

Previous studies and polls have shown that, when they reach 30, most women also reach a threshold – for lack of a better term – where they deliberately make a choice between having a family life and having a successful career. Those who go for the latter usually remain single or in a non-committal relationship, it is being said, while the others can even opt to become full-time, stay-at-home moms. The latest study on the topic shows that up to one third of all ladies choose children over their career, as the Daily Mail can confirm.

Until recently, Government claims had it that young mothers would be more than happy to put in extra hours for the extra money if a good childcare program was available, therefore all efforts were concentrated on developing it. However, the most recent research shows that one third of women want and are willing to quit their job without the regret of staying at home and raising the children, regardless of the options that are being presented to them (such as extra pay, bonuses or childcare programs).

“Once again a survey is telling us that the Government’s got it wrong. Continuing to push for more childcare and getting women to work more and longer hours is just not what women want. It’s neither in the interests of children, nor indeed in the interest of women.” Jill Kirby, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, tells the Mail in light of the new evidence. One third of working moms want to quit their job, six in ten are considering part-time or shorter hours, to spend more time with the family, while only a fifth of all working mothers say they would spend more hours at the workplace if they had someone to leave the children with.

Also, the findings of the latest study seem to point out that most ladies return to work because they simply have no other choice and they need the money to provide for the children. Only very few of them actually want to work, either because they would feel useless otherwise or because they want to be socially accepted and not live on state benefits. In this sense, choosing to return to work after starting a family is for many women a do-or-die type of situation.

“In many ways we have gone backwards, because women don’t have the choice – they have to go back to work.” Sally Russell of parenting website Netmums tells the Mail. Women who try to compromise between family and career by choosing a part-time job are also at a disadvantage, Russell adds. “It is hard to find work that is paid well that you can do part-time.” she explains for the same publication.