26% of mothers and 7% of fathers in the US are stay-at-home parents, according to a new research. Over the past 30 years, the share of fathers who were not working has increased while the share of unemployed mothers has slightly decreased. However, men and women stay at home for different reasons. While one every five mothers said they stay at home because they wanted to take care of their family, only one every sixty fathers claimed to same.
The Pew Research Center conducted an analysis to examine the employment status of parents in the United States and to understand the differences between stay-at-home parents and those who work for pay. The study used data from Current Population Survey (CPS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPS is a monthly survey of around 70,000 households and serves as the official source of unemployment statistics.
For this analysis, parents were defined as individuals aged 18 to 69 who lived with at least one of their own children under the age of 18. Stay-at-home parents were those who had not been employed for pay in the year leading up to the survey.
The study found that the proportion of parents in the U.S. who were not employed remained relatively stable over the past five years, with 18% of parents not working for pay in 2021, a figure consistent with 2016. However, there was a significant gender disparity in the prevalence of stay-at-home parents, with 26% of mothers and only 7% of fathers falling into this category.
The analysis revealed somewhat shifting trends over the past three decades. The percentage of mothers not employed decreased slightly from 28% in 1989 to 26% in 2021, while the corresponding figure for fathers increased from 4% to 7%. Consequently, dads now represent 18% of stay-at-home parents, up from 11% in 1989.
The reasons cited for not working differed substantially between stay-at-home mothers and fathers. A significant majority of stay-at-home mothers (79%) reported taking care of home or family as their reason for not working, whereas around one-in-ten cited illness, disability, being students, inability to find work, or retirement. On the other hand, stay-at-home fathers had a more diverse range of reasons, with 23% staying home for family care, 34% due to illness or disability (noticeably down from 56% in 1989), 13% retired, 13% unable to find work, and 8% attending school.
This means that one out of five of all mothers mentioned the care for their family as their reason to stay at home, while only one out 60 of all fathers did the same.
Demographically, stay-at-home fathers differed from those in paid work. They were less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree (22% compared to 42% of working dads) and were more likely to live in poverty (40% compared to 5% of working fathers). Stay-at-home fathers tended to be older, with 46% aged 45 or older compared to 35% of working fathers. Employed fathers are more likely to be married (85%) than those who stay at home (68%).
Dads who mentioned taking care of their family as the main reason to stay at home show distinct difference compared to those who stay for other reasons (illness, disability, unemployment, etc.) They are better educated, tend to be older, and 73% of them are married, whereas 66% of those with varied reasons share the same marital status.
In conclusion, the Pew Research Center's analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data highlighted the changes in the proportion of parents who are not employed, but also underscored the gender differences in stay-at-home parenting.
---
Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento