Mothers’ Paid Work Nearly Tripled From 1965 to 2011

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BSF-0043 · Family & Community · Evidence as of: 2011

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The Fact

Pew Research Center’s synthesis of historical time-diary data found that mothers averaged about 8 hours per week of paid work in 1965 and about 21 hours per week in 2011.

What This Means

Across the years when Generation X was growing up and then becoming adults, mothers moved a much larger portion of their weekly labor into paid employment.

Sources

  1. Pew Research Center, Modern Parenthood: Americans’ Time at Paid Work, Housework and Child Care, 1965–2011.
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