Support for Mothers' Employment at Home: Conflict between Work and Family
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Forthcoming
20 Pages Posted: 24 Nov 2008
Abstract
The conflict between family life and paid work outside the home creates difficult trade-offs. In most developed nations, few men or women think that mothers with young children are best off working full-time. But another alternative reduces the conflict: paid work at home. Data from a large representative national sample of Australia (n=1324) show that public support for maternal employment is fully 30 percentage points greater if the work is done at home. This difference is even larger for those who believe that there is great conflict between work and family, but vanishes for those who see little conflict. Structural equation analyses show significant social differences in levels of support, mainly reflecting different perceptions of conflict between work and family.
Keywords: women, home employment, Australia, attitudes, moral beliefs, conflict
JEL Classification: D13, D60, D63, J22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation