Section 7 Home Life

7.1 Introduction

This section assesses how women’s household responsibilities impact their career or job. It includes the division of labor in the household and how much of the “second shift” (i.e., unpaid work done at home outside of working hours) is required of women at home.

7.2 Key Findings

  • Half of responding women reported never taking temporary or permanent leave from their job due to demands from family responsibilities like child or eldercare, and when they do, it is for shorter periods.
  • Women report having all or the majority of the responsibility for managing the household.
  • One-in-ten women reported being reprimanded, penalized, or terminated from a job because of caretaking responsibilities.

7.3 Temporary or Permanent Time Off for Family

0%10%20%30%40%50%I have not taken any time off of work for thesepurposes.Less than one month1-3 months3-6 months6-12 months1-5 years5-10 yearsMore than 10 years
Have you taken temporary or permanent leave from a job for the primary purpose ofchildbirth, adoption, childcare, and/or eldercare? If so, how much time did you take?Percentage of RespondentsSource: REACH Community Survey of Women in the WorkplaceSource: REACH Community Survey of Women in the Workplace

Half of women reported never taking temporary or permanent leave from a job for child care or eldercare responsibilities. Of those who did, the majority of women took 3 months or less.

7.4 Perception of Leave

Note: This graph displays the summarized percentages of the bottom two response categories (Disagree and Strongly disagree) and the top two response categories (Agree and Strongly agree).

For women who took temporary or permanent leave from a job for any amount of time, 74% agreed they would have taken more time off it had been financially feasible. About a quarter of women (26%) agreed or strongly agreed that they did not want to return to work at all.

7.5 Division of Labor in Household

0%10%20%30%40%Other member(s) of my household take(s)responsibility for most of the work.I share responsibilities equally with othermember(s) of my household.I take responsibility for most of the work.I take responsibility for all of the work. (Ifyou live alone, choose this response.)
Who in your household is responsible for household duties?Percentage of RespondentsSource: REACH Community Survey of Women in the WorkplaceSource: REACH Community Survey of Women in the Workplace

More than a third of women (39%) said they share responsibilities equally with other people in their household; 32% take responsibility for most of the work, and 25% take sole responsibility of household labor.

7.6 Mother/Caregiver Penalty

81%7%12%
NoI'm not sure.YesHave you ever been reprimanded, penalized, or terminated from a job because of thedemands (real or perceived) of your family responsibilities?Source: REACH Community Survey of Women in the WorkplaceSource: REACH Community Survey of Women in the Workplace

81% of women said they had not been reprimanded, penalized, or terminated from a job because of family responsibility demands, compared to 12% who reported they were reprimanded in some way.