The mommy wars come to work

The mommy wars come to workThe mommy wars come to workAlthough choosing to have kids is a personal choice, it is one that will inevitably be judged. Whetherbei youre a parent or not, expect to face problems in the office.A study published in the journal Sex Roles this month found that relative to targets who had chosen to have two children, voluntarily childfree women and men were penalized by perceivers in the present research. Specifically, they were perceived as leading less fulfilling lives than do people who had chosen to have children.Butthings escalated from there.Moreover, their decision to forgo parenthood, arguably individuals fruchtwein personal choice, evoked moral outrage- anger, disgust, and disapproval, the study said.A caveat the study isnt a sweeping one. It featured datafrom 197 students at a large U.S. Midwestern university, and most were women. Participants were randomly assigned to evaluate a male or female married target who had chosen to have zero or two childr en. Participants completed measures of the targets perceived psychological fulfillment and their affective reactions to the target,the study said.While the sample size was relativelysmall and participants looked down upon both women and men, this is part of an ongoing discussion about what happens if female employees have kids- but also how theyre perceived if they dont.Theres a long history of a penalty for childlessness, at least in the perception of colleagues. Parents may look down on childless coworkers as people who have fewer responsibilitiesor be wary of them as people with endless ambition. In response, at least one woman without children fought back with a very public request for me-ternity leave - which gestures at the rift, but doesnt account for the fact that actual maternity leave is designed as a medical concern, and not a social one.Childlessness shaming in politicsEven UK Prime MinisterTheresa May has been shamed for not having kids.The Times reported that during the election to be prime minister, candidate Andrea Leadsom said that since she is a mother, she has a a very real stake in the future of Britain and thatMay possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people. But I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next.The week beforehand, May had spoken about not being able to have kids with her husband,Philip, even though they had wanted to,according to The Guardian.But Leadsom backpedaledand apologized after being criticized for her comments.The Telegraph reported that Leadsom said,I was pressed to say how my children had formed my views. I didnt want it to be used as an issue. Having children has no bearing on the ability to be PM. I deeply regret that anyone has got the impression that I think otherwise.But she still came under fire for her comments after using Mays childlessnessas a reason for an attack.MotherhoodversusfatherhoodAlthough working women are stigmatized for being child-free, work ing mothers also deal with a variety of challenges.A report by Professor Michelle J. Budig of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for think tank Third Waysaid thatthere is a wage penalty for motherhood of 4% per child that cannot be explained by human capital, family structure, family-friendly job characteristics, or differences among women that are stable over time. Second, this motherhood penalty is larger among low-wage workers while the top 10% of female workers incur no motherhood wage penalty, the report said.Even though many mothers are in the same boat, there is rivalry among those in the group.TODAYput together list of moms comments on whythe judgement is wrong.But becoming a father does not hurt all mens wallets.The report also said,all else equal, fatherhood increases mens earnings by over 6% (for fathers who live with their child).This points to a double standard.Whats the solution to all this? Maybe its this whether you have kids or not, you shouldnt be judged for your marital or parental status at work.