Missionaries of the Sacred

Many parents balance work and family life by choosing to work part-time instead of full-time and moth­ers tend to choose this option more often than fathers. Mothers are also more likely to prefer part-time work, 62% of working mothers, say they would prefer to work part-time (compared to 21% of working fathers). Part-time work has the advantage of requiring fewer hours (and sometimes allows for greater flexibility in terms of choosing one’s hours) allowing a parent to spend more time with his or her children. However, part-time workers are often paid less and receive fewer benefits such as access to health insur­ance, vacation time and paid sick leave. For example, only 26% of part-time workers (private industry) have paid sick leave, compared to 73% of full-time workers. Part-time work can be very advantageous to employers because it costs less (both in terms of wages and benefits), and often offers the employer a lot of flexibility in terms of scheduling. The fact that more women than men tend to sacrifice their long-term career goals and look for a part time job, combined with the fact that part-time work has lower pay and fewer benefits, raises questions about whether or not employers are taking advantage of the pressure placed on parents, particularly women, by the often conflicting demands of family responsibilities and financial need (and/or desire to work for personal fulfillment).