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| Teamsters make sure women are treated fairly on the job. |
A new study shows all-time high support of mothers holding down jobs by both teens and adults. For 12th graders, only 22 percent currently believe a preschool-aged child would suffer if their mother worked, down from 34 percent in the 1990s and 59 percent in the 1970s. Meanwhile, some 35 percent currently believe young children are hurt by having working mothers, down from 42 percent in 1998 and 68 percent in 1977.
Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University and a lead author of the study, said despite some stating that younger generations have turned against such a dynamic, the research doesn't bear that out:
This goes against the popular belief that millennials want to "turn back the clock," or that they are less supportive of working moms because their own mothers worked. Instead they are more supportive.
All this is as it should be. All women should be accepted in the workplace. After all, for many it is not a choice, but a necessity. Many single moms, for instance, are doing all they can to keep their families above water. But just because the public now supports the idea of moms on the job doesn't mean this country is making it easy for them to do so.
Take the lack of fairness in pay. Congress has repeatedly rejected the Paycheck Fairness Act in recent years. In essence, a majority of lawmakers are saying they don't have a problem with women making 78 cents on the dollar that men earn. It's nothing less than insulting.
Add to that the continuing problem of workers lacking paid sick leave as well as affordable childcare options, and working isn't really much of a deal for women. But many simply have no other option.
It is time U.S. elected officials recognize the value of women both at home and at work. They deserve equality in pay, and they should be allowed the flexibility to balance the home and work lives when events intervene.
