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Families Count: new section on family work now available

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Families Count 2024 is now available

August 28, 2024

Research Snapshot: Mothers and Part-time Work: Preferences and Experiences


Highlights of a study of whether part-time work for mothers improved their work–life balance



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Finding work–life balance can be a struggle, especially for mothers of young children. Although attitudes concerning the gendered division of childrearing and housekeeping are shifting, mothers still perform most of these tasks. This unpaid labour, or reproductive work, can present extra barriers to achieving work–life balance. Part-time paid work is often seen as the idealized answer to this struggle, offering flexibility in paid work hours to meet the demands of reproductive work.

In this study, the researchers examined the experiences of 58 mothers in Alberta who had at least one child under five years old. The mothers either worked full- or part-time or had opted out of the workforce.

This research builds on our growing understanding of the Family Wellbeing component of the Vanier Institute’s Family Diversities and Wellbeing Framework.

Breitkreuz, R., Cadrain, L., Dyckerhoff, J., Abraham, H., & Robbenhaar, M. (2024, March 30). Encumbered: A critical feminist analysis of why mothers want part-time employment. Community, Work & Family. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2024.2333871