Heather Boushey

Choice: it’s all about the options available

Over the past few years, we've heard a great deal about how mothers everywhere are dropping out of the labor market to stay home with their children. There is truth to this story. Mother's labor force participation rates have fallen quite sharply since 2000. But participation rates have fallen just as much for men and for women without children.

Falling employment for all kinds of workers usually means that there is something wrong with the labor market, not a particular sub-group of workers. So, shouldn't the headlines read, "Americans struggle to stay at work"? The only thing I can figure is that millions struggling may not be as compelling headline as "Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood" (even if the story isn't backed up by solid data).

But the recession story is probably very interesting to the 3.4 million people who are not at work today because the employment rate remains below its pre-recession level. It's also probably of interest to the millions of mothers who struggle every day to get to work and care for their families. The recession of the early 2000s was harder on women than any previous recession. Let me say that in another way: in the most recent recession, women lost more jobs - and have taken longer to get them back - than they did in the prior three recessions. But note that it's been hard on all women, not just mothers.

If the labor market is weak and mothers can't find jobs, should we question their commitment to work or should we question the private sector's ability to create jobs and our government's commitment to helping them? My guess is that millions of hardworking mothers might appreciate knowing that if they've found jobs to be scarce, it may simply be because the the jobs aren't there. It may or may not be a subliminal confirmation of their desire to stay at home with their children, but that's a totally different story.

Heather Boushey: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 5:22 AM, Mar 09, 2006 in Economic Opportunity | Economy | Middle-class squeeze
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