of reasons û including concern about liability if children are injured. This lack of appropriate childcare options often forces women to accept part-time jobs, and positions substantially below their capabilities.
Recent studies have shown that women are just as likely to work the majority of their adult lives. In order to compete in the business environment very few women stop working once they have children. According to the article shown below, women who stops work for more than a year risk pay cuts of approximately thirty-two percent upon returning to the workforce. Statistics also show that very few men take extended leaves of absence from work û and this tends to exaggerate the issue of extended time off. As a result, dropping out of the labor market for more than a year tends to carry a stiff penalty in terms of positions offered, advancement opportunities, and compensation offered for working women.
The article explains that women who work part-time tend to contribute to a work environment in which pay inequity between male and female employees is the norm rather than the exception. The fact that women are more likely than men to work part-time accounts for part of the historical and ongoing disparity in compensation between men and women in the workforce in the United States. Certainly it is true that part-time work often pays less than full-time work because it often requires fewer skills...but the effect on women's' earnings carries over to women working full time and trying to develop a career in contract to simply having and keeping a job.
Some women turn to self-employment as a way to juggle both work and family responsibilities. Self-employment is high risk. There is no safety net if the job fails. Often, women must accept lower pay when starting their business simply to get the project off the ground. Therefore, self-employment is not a viable option for many women who were and are concerned about...