Research

Quick Take: Working Parents

Sep 22, 2017

Data and sources for Canada, Global, and United States

Canada

The Number of Traditional Canadian Households Consisting of a Mother, Father, and Children Is Declining1
  • In 2016, one-person households became the most common (28.2%), while the percentage of households that include couples with children declined from 31.5% in 2001 to 26.5% in 2016.2
    • The number of couples living without children increased faster (+7.2%) between  2011 and 2016 than the number of couples with children (+2.3%).3
    • The majority of couples in 2016 were married but common-law unions represent over one-fifth (21.3%) of all couples in Canada.4
  • Single-parent households increased by 8.0%, with the greatest reported increase among single-parent households headed by men. Despite this, women still head eight out of 10 single-parent families.5

The Majority of Parents in Dual-Income Homes Worked Full-Time in 20146

Between 1976 and 2014, the number of dual-earner families has almost doubled from 1.0 million families to 1.9 million families.7

  • The employment rate of married women increased by over 30 percentage points, from 44.6% in 1976 to 78.1% in 2015.8
  • The employment rate of mothers working with children under 6 years old increased by 117% between 1976 (32.1%) and 2015 (69.5%).9

GLOBAL

Nearly Half of All Couple Households in OECD* Countries Include Children10

The majority of couple households in Finland, Germany, Japan, and the United States do not include children; by contrast in Israel, almost 70% of couple households include children.11

Women Do at Least Double the Unpaid Work That Men Do12
On Average, More Men Are Using Parental Leave Than Before13
  • Maternity leave is available in 167 countries with average leaves of 106 days.14
  • Paternity leave is available in 86 countries with average leaves of 7 days.15
  • Research shows that fathers who take parental leave are more likely to help with childrearing tasks such as feeding and bathing their children.16
Family Composition Is Changing Around the World

In Australia, 84% of all households were made up of couples in 2016, and 44% of those had dependents.17

  • Of all households, 14% were single-parent families of which women were the head 83% of the time.18

In India, over  300,000 children benefited from sanctioned Creches (preschool education, supplementary nutrition, and recreation that benefits children of working mothers) in 2014 (down from 792,950 in 2009).19

  • In 2006, 82.7% of all children in India lived in a two-parent household, with another 11.4% living in a single-parent household headed by their mother.20

In Japan, women’s workforce participation rate rose to 71.2% for women in the 30–34 age group in 2015, up from 53.7% in 1995.21

UNITED STATES

Most American Workers Have Family Caregiving Responsibilities22

The majority of American women between the ages of 15 and 50 are mothers.23

  • 70.5% of all women in 2016 with children under 18 were in the labor force.24
  • In 2016, mothers of younger children were less likely to be in the labor force. Only 58.6% of mothers with infants, compared to 75% of mothers with older children (between 6– 17 years old), were in the labor force.25
  • In 2016, 92.8% of men with children under 18 were in the labor force.26  
  • The traditional family is no longer the norm. Families, where the father is the sole breadwinner, make up only about a quarter of families (27%) with children under 18.27
All Industrialized Nations Except the United States Offer Paid Parental Leave28
  • Only the states of California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island offer paid family medical leave following childbirth or adoption.29
Mothers and Fathers Both Report Difficulties Balancing Work and Family Life30

56% of mothers find work-life effectiveness challenging compared to 50% men.31

American businesses lose $3 billion annually due to absenteeism related to family caregiving issues.32

The 2017 Benefits Survey from the Society for Human Resource Management reported no significant increases in the number of companies offering family-friendly benefits.33

  • Childcare benefits are an important driver in recruiting and retaining talented working parents. While 29% of companies allow parents to bring children to work in an emergency situation, costlier benefits such as access to backup child care services remain rare at just 3% of companies surveyed.34

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Boston College, Center for Work And Family, “The New Dad” (2017).

Brigid Schulte, Dan Connolly and Uyhun Ung, The Better Work Toolkit, Ideas42.

ILO, “Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and Practice Across the World” (2014).

Pew Research Center, Social and Demographic Trends, “Modern Parenthood,” Social and Demographic Trends (2013).

Working Mother Research Institute, “[email protected]: The Working Mother Report” (2015).

Emily Cohen, Liz Mulligan-Ferry and Jan Combopiano, Flex Works (Catalyst, 2013).

 

* OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Working Parents, September 2017.

  1. Statistics Canada, Families, Households and Marital Status: Key Results from the 2016 Census (August 2, 2017).
  2. Statistics Canada, Families, Households and Marital Status: Key Results from the 2016 Census (August 2, 2017).
  3. Statistics Canada, Families, Households and Marital Status: Key Results from the 2016 Census (August 2, 2017).
  4. Statistics Canada, Families, Households and Marital Status: Key Results from the 2016 Census (August 2, 2017).
  5. “Census Shows New Face of the Canadian Family,” CBCNews, September 19, 2012.
  6. Sharanjit Uppal, Employment Patterns of Families with Children (Statistics Canada, 2017).
  7. Sharanjit Uppal, Employment Patterns of Families with Children (Statistics Canada, 2017).
  8. Statistics Canada, “Chart 7: Employment Rates of Women Aged 25 to 54 by Age of Youngest Child in the Household, Canada, 1976 to 2015,” Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report: Female Population (2017).
  9. Statistics Canada, “Chart 3: Employment Rates of Women Aged 25 to 54 by Marital Status, 1976 to 2015,” Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report: Female Population (2017).
  10. OECD, “SF1.1: Family Size and Household Composition,” Family Database (June 12, 2016).
  11. OECD, “SF1.1: Family Size and Household Composition,” Family Database (June 12, 2016).
  12. International Labour Organization, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (2016).
  13. OECD, “Parental Leave: Where Are the Fathers?”, Policy Brief (March 2016).
  14. The World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal (2015).
  15. The World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal (2015).
  16. OECD, “Parental Leave: Where Are the Fathers?”, Policy Brief (March 2016).
  17. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Australian Families: 6224.0.55.001 – Labour Force, Australia: Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, June 2017,” Labour Force Survey (2017).
  18. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Australian Families: 6224.0.55.001 – Labour Force, Australia: Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, June 2017,” Labour Force Survey (2017).
  19. National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, “Table 156: Creches and Children availing Benefits under Creche Scheme As on 31.12.2011 (2011-2012),” Statistics on Women in India 2014 (2014).
  20. National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, “Table 156: Creches and Children availing Benefits under Creche Scheme As on 31.12.2011 (2011-2012),” Statistics on Women in India 2014 (2014).
  21. Statistics Bureau, “Chapter 12: Labor,” Statistical Handbook of Japan 2016 (2016).
  22. Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn, The Effects of Paid Family and Medical Leave on Employment Stability and Economic Security (Center for American Progress, 2012).
  23. US Census Bureau, “Table 3: Children Ever Born, Number of Mothers, and Percent Childless by Age and Marital Status, and by Nativity: June 2016” (May 2017).
  24. “Employment Characteristics of Families – 2016,” US Bureau of Labor Statistics press release, April 20, 2017.
  25. “Employment Characteristics of Families – 2016,” US Bureau of Labor Statistics press release, April 20, 2017.
  26. “Employment Characteristics of Families – 2016,” US Bureau of Labor Statistics press release, April 20, 2017.
  27. Kim Parker and Gretchen Livingston, “7 Facts About American Fathers,” Pew Research Center FactTank, June 13, 2018.
  28. KJ Dell’Antonia, “New Act Proposes National Paid Family Leave Policy,” The New York Times, December 11, 2013
  29. National Conference of State Legislatures, State Family and Medical Leave Laws (July 19, 2016).
  30. Kim Parker and Wendy Wang, Modern Parenthood: Roles of Moms and Dads Converge as They Balance Work and Family (Pew Research Center, 2013).
  31. Kim Parker and Wendy Wang, Modern Parenthood: Roles of Moms and Dads Converge as They Balance Work and Family (Pew Research Center, 2013).
  32. Karen Shellenback, Child Care & Parent Productivity: Making the Business Case (Cornell University, 2004).
  33. Society for Human Resource Management, “Table 9: Family-Friendly Benefits By Year,” 2017 Employee Benefits: Remaining Competitive in a Challenging Talent Marketplace (2015).
  34. Society for Human Resource Management, “Table 9: Family-Friendly Benefits By Year,” 2017 Employee Benefits: Remaining Competitive in a Challenging Talent Marketplace (2015).