New Breed of Career Moms
Study finds changing schedules and attitudes as women balance work and family.
July 13, 2007 — -- Deanna Campbell used to manage a call center in Nashville, Tenn. Now she manages four children under age of 5 at her home outside New York City.
For her, the decision to stay at home was clear.
"They get someone who is there 24 hours a day," Campbell told ABC's Kate Snow. "I think they know that they get my full attention 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
That type of schedule is what an increasing number of women are striving for, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center, which shows a distinct change in how women addressed the work-home balance a decade ago.
Nearly half of those responding said their ideal was to not work outside the home, up 39 percent from 1997, while 60 percent of the working moms said they would rather spend more time with family by working part-time.
"Overall, mothers of all stripes, regardless of what they're doing, are less likely to say that full-time work would be ideal for them," said Cary Funk a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center:
In part, the changing views come from a new generation of parents, as those in Generation X look to work while also having time for their kids. Part-time work may also be appealing as work schedules get more demanding.
"The biggest pressure is of course just the sheer tyranny of the clock. The hours have ramped up so tremendously -- full-time work is no longer 40 hours week," said Pamela Stone of Hunter College.
"We have more women than ever working in demanding professional jobs. … We have women who are doing jobs that are by their very nature time consuming and demanding, and moreover, we know those very jobs are seeing the biggest run up in hours."
While a lot of women want to work part-time, most are still spending five of their days at work. The study found that among those with jobs, 75 percent of the mothers work full-time.
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