Mothers with elite education less likely to work, study finds

Mothers with elite education less likely to work, study finds


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SALT LAKE CITY — Women who attend elite universities are opting out of the workforce to raise a family at a much higher rate than women who don't, according to recent reports.

While factors like cost, opportunity and childcare play into a woman's choice to work outside the home, analysts say there are dangers to leaving the workforce.

Vanderbilt University researchers told BBC that married women with children who attended elite universities are 20 percent less likely to work than women in that group who don't have children. Meanwhile, 13.5 percent of mothers who attended lower-ranked schools were likely to opt out.

The Employers Council President Monica Whalen said leaving a job to raise a family is a valid choice that many women make, but there is a downside.

The study's findings
  • 35 percent of women with bachelor's degrees from top schools who also hold an MBA work full time
  • 66 percent of female MBAs with bachelor's degrees from less-selective schools work full time
  • Women with bachelor's degrees from elite universities who are married with children are 20 percent less likely to work than women in this group who don't have kids
  • Women who hold bachelor's degrees from lower-ranked schools and are married with children are 13.5 percent less likely to work than those without kids

"There will be consequences (affecting) your ability to get back in and how fast you would assume your path," she said.

Whalen said some people underestimate how difficult it can be to get back into the workforce. She said some bosses may question the reliability of someone who leaves their career, in addition to an array of other reservations they might have.

"The job may have changed," Whalen said. "Other people who were fulfilling those duties while you were gone are, perhaps a better fit for the company."

Over the last decade, companies in Utah have been making a lot of improvements to promote work-life balance to prevent experienced personnel from leaving.

"This often means helping them find that balance that most workers in today's workplace are striving for," Whalen said.

She said companies in Utah have been implementing flexible schedules, job sharing arrangements and telecommuting to entice their employees into staying with them.

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