Daughters of working moms make more money, sons better partners: study

WATCH ABOVE: Study out of Harvard says daughters of working moms more likely to be successful. Marianne Dimain reports.

TORONTO — Working mothers, take heart: a new Harvard Business School study shows some positive effects your career has on your kids.

Researchers studying 50,000 children of career women in 24 countries found daughters of working moms tend to be more successful than those whose mothers stayed at home.

“Daughters of mothers who worked outside of the home for pay, at any point before their daughter was 14 years old, are more likely to be employed, more likely to hold supervisory responsibility,” said Professor Kathleen McGinn from Harvard Business School. “They earn higher income on average if they’re employed, and they spend fewer hours engaged in household work every week.”

There is often guilt associated with placing children in care and heading to work, whether it be for financial or personal reasons. Research shows working moms are positive role models for their daughters in their careers.

“I love what I do,” said Dr. Melanie Chryssafis, busy at work at her chiropractic practice. She is a mother of two and feels her work sets a good example for her children.

“I definitely think it’s important for me to show them that I can be successful in my career and at home as well.”

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Career and fitness coach Beth Yarzab is dedicated to helping women strike a work-life balance. She said women she works with feel compelled to set a financial example for their kids.

“It’s really important for most of my clients to show their kids that mommy is contributing to the household income. That mommy is part of something bigger outside of the house.”

According to the study, on average girls of working mothers earned 23 per cent more money.

“It doesn’t say employed moms are better moms or that their children are somehow more satisfied or happy children,” said McGinn. “What it says is that employed moms are modelling a way, a different way, to be involved in the world.”

The research also considered cultural differences and consistently found that working moms helped mould the success of their children and their views of gender equality.

So while the girls grow up to make more money, sons of working mothers appear to grow up to be better partners: the study suggested they are more likely to share household and childcare duties.

With files from the Canadian Press and Marianne Dimain