However, this remains a bigger struggle for working mothers as opposed to working fathers. Just 100 years ago<\/a>, women were ruled \u201cnot people,\u201d and refused the right to the Law Society entrance exams.<\/p>\n After two world wars, decades of relentless suffrage, glacial policy changes, game-changing birth control innovations, and countless setbacks, it was by the 1970s that over 50% of Western women were engaged in continuous paid work<\/a>\u2014compared to virtually all men and dads.<\/p>\n The road for working parents (and in particular mothers) remains uphill, with unfair treatment and unjustified perceptions consistently blocking their ambitions.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to take a look at how the treatment of working parents has changed over the years and, crucially, what steps are yet to be taken.<\/p>\n Childcare & Nurseries<\/strong><\/p>\n The argument for Federal, state, or local childcare first hit the headlines in the 1970s. Back then\u2014despite more women actively working than ever before\u2014government decision makers still saw \u201cchildcare [as] the mother\u2019s domain.\u201d If a mother was to work, it was her choice to put her familial responsibilities to one side.<\/p>\n Or as one local health official put it<\/a>: \u201cIf the career mother wishes to park out her child for a substantial proportion of the day\u2026 she should at least be asked to pay the full cost, and should not expect the state or the municipality to subsidize her.\u201d<\/p>\n Thankfully, the women of the 1970s and 80s didn\u2019t take this argument lying down. Feminists, trade unions, and childcare experts were adamant that nurseries should not only be a social priority for ending sex discrimination and unequal opportunities, but also for the greater economic prosperity of the nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n While some childcare policies were introduced and a great number of daycares have since opened across the country, it remains woefully underfunded. The result is a childcare system that is wildly unaffordable for all but the highest percentile of earners in the US.<\/p>\n On paper, moms can now have it all: full-time careers and childcare during those working hours. But in reality, many mothers are forced to choose between working to pay for childcare, or dropping their work entirely\u2014with very little economic difference between the two scenarios.<\/p>\n Today, childcare remains one of the great unfulfilled promises of modern America.<\/p>\n Job Security and Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n Having children remains statistically the worst career decision<\/a> a woman can make.<\/p>\n Not only is there an epidemic of casual stigma against the commitment of \u201cattention-divided\u201d moms, but childless women are 8.2 times more likely<\/a> to be recommended for a promotion than mothers.<\/p>\n The fear of being removed\u2014directly or indirectly\u2014from their responsibilities is one of the biggest fears that new moms have before giving birth: some 35% of working parents<\/a> who did not take a career break, but would have liked to, cited a fear of losing their job.<\/p>\n While it is illegal to discriminate against parents in this way, a $14 million settlement<\/a> in the 1980s shows it was happening then, and with half as many moms still getting promoted<\/a> as dads today, it\u2019s clearly still a prevalent and frightening problem today.<\/p>\n Time Off Work for Birth or Adoption<\/strong><\/p>\n When the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)<\/a> was signed into law in 1994, it seemed like a huge step forward: up to 12 weeks a year of leave in order to care for a new child, adopted or born!<\/p>\n But it was also unpaid, and many parents (and overwhelmingly fathers) were discouraged from leveraging the policy. The loss of wages makes it impossible for most low-income families to utilize this time off and barely half of working parents actually qualify in the first place.<\/p>\n In terms of parental leave, the US is tragically behind almost all of the developed world<\/a>. Despite more than 80% of Americans<\/a> backing paid parental leave, financial pressure regularly forces parents to return to work after barely a few weeks with their child. And without grandparents or strong neighborhood support, they\u2019ll be paying through the nose for childcare too.<\/p>\n Work Commitment\u2014Or the Lack Thereof<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the biggest problems faced by working moms (and more recently, dads) is the total disregard for their ambition, competence, and loyalty to the job\u2014a problem that\u2019s festered since women first joined the labor force en masse more than 60 years ago.<\/p>\n To this day, mothers are considered 12% less committed<\/a> to work than non-mothers. This perception masks a deeper problem that many employers consider their employees\u2019 attention and focus to be their own property.<\/p>\n The idea that we all have \u201cother things\u201d to focus on, away from work, should not be controversial\u2014and yet many white collar careers penalize \u201ctime off\u201d and glorify burning the midnight oil (think law or finance workers). Yet parents simply cannot do this without full-time childcare or being forced to neglect their kids.<\/p>\n But the problem extends far beyond the upper middle class and, predictably, affects minorities more. One in two women of color<\/a> report that their commitment or competence was questioned after they had kids.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/vitolda-klein-L8oEIAZ59_g-unsplash-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nProvisions for Working Parents<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nExpectations on Working Moms and Dads<\/h2>\n
Discrimination: The Law vs Reality<\/h2>\n