Full text of Who Are the Working Mothers?

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

oA^

ll/(nkcn(7

Afd^i^m?

L E A F L E T 37 (Rev.
October 1970
wo

Women's Bureau, WORKPLACE STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The American woman, as part of a changing world, not only performs her basic role within the fami l y unit but also assumes other obligations that are necessitated by the times in which she lives and by
a sense of responsibility to the community as w e l l as to her family. Today's woman is faced w i t h new
problems and new challenges. For many women, including those who have children, new l i f e patterns
include paid employment, although such work may be intermittent or on a part-time basis.
Among the 29.9 m i l l i o n women who were working or seeking work i n March 1969 were 11.6 m i l l i o n
mothers with children under 18 years of age. About 7.4 m i l l i o n o f these working mothers had children 6
to 17 years o f age only (none under 6), 2.1 m i l l i o n had children 3 to-5 years of age (none under 3), and
another 2.1 m i l l i o n had children under 3 years of age.
Since the period immediately preceding World War I I , the number of women workers has more than
doubled, but the number o f working mothers has increased almost e i ^ t f o l d . About 4 out of 10 mothers
were i n the labor force in March 1969 as compared with less than 1 out of 10 in 1940.
The growing movement o f women into paid employment, with i t s implications for family l i f e and
society, has focused a great deal o f attention on the circumstances of women's working, particularly i f
there are young children i n the family.
Why do mothers o f young children work? For the great majority of working women with young c h i l dren, economic need is the most compelling reason. This need, i n large measure, is determined by the
husband's earnings and the regularity o f his employment. The higher his earnings, and the greater the
security afforded by his job, the less l i k e l y the wife is to work. In homes l e f t fatherless by death, divorce, or separation, the compulsion on a mother to seek work i s obviously great. Her earnings are not
supplementary; they are basic to the maintenance of her family. In this most affluent of nations, 32 percent o f a l l families headed by a woman l i v e d i n poverty in 1968; many other such families had incomes
barely above the poverty l i n e .
I n the absence o f financial necessity, the decision o f an individual mother to work outside the
home i s influenced by such factors as the jobs i n the community available to one with her education,
training, or s k i l l s ; the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f adequate c h i l d care arrangements; and the hours she would be required to be on the job. Mothers w i t h young children have a strong preference few part-time or part-year
jobs.
As background material for those engaged i n studies or discussions pertaining to working mothers,
the Women's Bureau has provided, through the questions and answers that follow, information on the
status of working mothers and on the factors that motivate them to seek paid employment.




MANPOWER

ABOUT

WORKING

QUESTIONS

MOTHERS*. . .

1

ANSWERS
In brief

In detail

NUMBER AND PROPORTION
1. Of all women workers, what proportion have children under 18 years
of age?

Almost two-fifths (39 percent) at
the time of the most recent estimate
m March 1969.

Mothers constituted a fourth of the total
woman labor force** m 1950. Theu- proportion of the total was only a tenth in
1940.

2. How does the present number of
working mothers compare with earlier years?

The 11.6 million working mothers
in March 1969 was the highest number ever recorded.

Only 4.6 million mothers were in the
Nation's labor force in 1950; only 1.5 million, in 1940.

3. Of all mothers in the population,
what proportion work outside the
home?

About two-fifths.

By comparison, only a fifth were in the
labor force in 1950; only a tenth, i n 1940.

AGE
1. Vthal IS the median age of working mothers?

I

Thirty-seven years, only slightly
below the 39-year median age for all
women workers.

Of every 10 working mothers, 3 are 25
to 34 years old and almost 4 are 35 to 44
years old.

MOTHERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN
5. Does the presence of young children in the family affect a mother's
decision whether to seek employment
outside the home?

Yes. The percentage o f mothers
who work is relatively low in families with young children.

Among families with children under 3
years of age, only 26 percent of the mothers were in the labor force in March 1969.
For mothers with children between 3 and 5
years of age (none under 3 years), the
proportion was 37 percent. Of mothers
with children 6 to 17 years of age only,
51 percent were workers.

6. Why do some mothers with young
children work outside the home?

Usually because they need the
money that their earnings provide.

Many families cannot manage without
the mother's earnings.
Of a l l working
mothers with children under 6 years of
age in March 1969, one-third were either
widowed, divorced, or separated from their
husbands or had husbands whose incomes
in 1968 were below $5,000.

More than 1 out of 3.

7. How many working mothers have
children under 6 years of age?

S. How many young children
uorking mothers?

In 1965, 10.9 million children
under 12 years of age had mothers
who worked.

have

In March 1969, 4.2 million working
mothers had children under 6 years of age,
and half of these workers had children
under 3 years of age.
About 4.5 million of these children were
under 6 years of age (2 million under 3
years of age).

NEGRO*** MOTHERS
9. How many wording mothers are
Negro?

I

About 1.7 million as of March 1969.

Some 917,000 Negro woricing mothers
had children 6 to 17 years of age only,
and 750,000 had childrai under 6 years of
age.

' " M o t h e r s , " as used in this l e a f l e t , refers to women w i t h children under 18 years of age, unless otherwise designated
• • B e g i n n i n g January 1967, " l a b o r f o r c e " refers to persons 16 y e a r s of age and over who a r e either employed or s e e k i n g '

Digitized
work
Pfor
r e v FRASER
i o u s l y i t referred to persons 14 y e a r s
- • ' N e g r o a n d other races (except w h i t e ) .


of age and over.

10. How does the labor force participation rate of Negro mothers compare with that of white mothers?

It is considerably higher, particularly when there are young children
in the family.

Sixty-two percent of Negro mothers with
children 6 to 17 years o f age only and 45
percent of those with children under 6
years of age were in the labor force in
March 1969. The comparable prc^ortions
for white mothers were 50 percent and 28
percent, respectively.

CHILD CARE ARRANGEMENTS
11. What arrangements do working
mothers make for child care?

Nearly half of a l l children under
12 years of age are cared for in their
own homes. Only a small percentage
receive group care.

In February 1965, 47 percent of the children under 6 years of age were looked after in their own homes and 31 percent were
cared form someone else's home. Twentytwo percent were cared for by other arrangements, but only 6 percent received
group care in child care centers or similar facilities. Of the children 6 to 11
years of age, 47 percent were looked after
in their own homes, 11 percent received
care in someone else's home, and about
42 percent were cared for by other arrangements. At least 8 percent of the older
children looked after themselves, and only
1 percent received group care

12. Is a mother more inclined to
seek employment if female relatives
are members of her household?

Yes, particularly i f she has young
children and a female relative is
available to look after them during
the mother's absence from home.

In families with children under 6 years
of age, 35 percent of the mothers with
husband present worked in March 1969
when a female relative lived with the
family. The proportion was only 28 percent for mothers who did not have such
assistance.

MOTHERS WITH HUSBAND PRESENT IN THE HOME
13. What proportion of working mothers are from homes in which the
husband is present?

Eighty-four percent as o f March
1969.

About 9.7 million working mothers were
from homes where the husband was present.
The other 1.9 million were widowed, d i vorced, or separated from their husbands
for other reasons.

14. Of all mothers from families in
which the husband is present, what
proportion work?

Thirty-nm'e percent as of March
1969. The proportion was 59 percent
among other mothers.

In homes where the husband was present,
only 29 percent of the mothers with children under 6 years worked. Mothers who
are widowed, separated, or divorced are
more likely to work than other mothers.
In March 1969, 50 percent of the mothers
in these categories worked, even when
there were young children in the family.

15. How much does her husband's
income influence a mother's decision to work?

Far more mothers work outside the
home when their husbands' incomes
are low than when they are high.

In families where the husbands' incomes were less than $3,000 in 1968,
the proportion of mothers in paid employment in March 1969 was 55 percent for
those with children 6 to 17 years of age
only and 33 percent for those with children under 6 years. When the husbands'
incomes were $7,000 or more, the proportions were 45 and 24 percent, respectively.

16. How many working mothers have
husbands with incomes below the
$3,000 poverty level?

About 1 out of every 12 working
mothers (husband present) in 1969.

About 485,000 of these mothers had
children 6 to 17 years of age only, the
other 281,000 had children under 6 years
of age.

17. Does educational attainment affect a mother's decision to work?

Yes. The more education a mother
has, the more likely she is to be m
the labor force.

The labor force participation in March
1969 of mothers (husband present) with
children of school age only ranged from
47 percent among those with less than a
high school education to 57 percent among
those who were college graduates. The
correlation was not as strong among mothers with children under 6, for whom comparable figures were 27 and 32 percent




EMPLOYMENT

CHARACTERISTICS

18. Is a mother's decision to work
part time or part year influenced by
the ages of her children?

Yes. Among working mothers with
husband present, tho proportion who
work full tinu' tho year rt)und is lowest among those with c h i l ^ n under
3 years of age.

About 33 percent of working mothers
with husband present worked 35 hours or
more a week and 50 to 52 weeks during
1968. Forty percent of mothers with children 6 to 17 years of age only, but only
17 percent of those with children under 3
years of age, were full-time year-round
workers.

19. How do the occupations of working mothers compare with those of
other women worker ?

Occupations of working mothers
are similar, in general, to those of
all women woricers.

Among every 100 working mothers with
husband present, there are 32 clerical
workers, 21 service workers, 18 factory
operatives, 14 professional workers, 7
sales workers, and 8 in other occupations.

SUGGESTED

REFERENCES

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
SOCIAL AND REHABILITATION SERVICE. CHILDREN'S BUREAU:
•Children of Working Mothers. Pub. 382-1 960. Reprinted 1 968. 20 cents.
In cooperation with U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. WAGE AND LABOR
STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION. WOMEN'S BUREAU:
•Child Care Arrangements of Working Mothers in the United States.
ChiIdren's Bureau Pub. 461 -1968. $1.25
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS:
•Monthly Labor Review, May 1 970. 75 cents single copy; $9 per year.
WAGE AND LABOR STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION, WOMEN'S BUREAU:
•1969 Handbook on Wonfien Workers. Bull. 294. 1969. $1.50.
••Federal Funds for Day Care Projects. February 1969.
••Working Mothers and the Need for Child Care Services. June 1968.
••Facts About Day Care. October 1969.
••Working Women and Day Care Needs. Report of a consultation held June 1, 1967. 1968.
•Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
••Available from the Women's Bureau, Wage and Labor Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor,
Washington, D.C. 20210.

F<ff aale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 10 cents

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING O F F I C E • 1970 O - 404-701

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WORKPLACE STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION
WOMEN'S BUREAU
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20210
OFFICIAL BUSINESS




POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
I

T H I R D CLASS M A I L