Women ‘Opting Out’: An Overblown Myth, New Study Says

Today's Wall Street Journal, The Juggle Blog, sites a new study that questions how many women are really leaving the workforce. If you're reading this you know the reality is that many women do leave. Check out the blog and comments below:

There have been a number of high-profile articles about well-educated women “opting out” of the workforce after having children. But a new study published in the June issue of the “American Sociological Review” says that this so-called “opting out revolution” has been overblown. (See a summary of the study here.)

Among the findings: Fewer than 8% of professional, college-educated women born since 1956 leave the workforce for a year or more during their prime childbearing years, writes sociologist Christine Percheski, a doctoral student at Princeton, in an examination of census data. What’s more, full-time employment levels of women with young children have risen dramatically in recent decades. And more women with young children are working longer hours than ever before.

The study’s findings surprised me because they don’t gel with my personal experience. I have many well-educated, accomplished friends, all new moms, who have decided to stay at home with their kids rather than going back to their high-pressure jobs. In most cases, they have husbands who earn big bucks, are from places where the cost of living is low, or worked in high-stress jobs that they were never crazy about. Read more.