The most prominent finding: Single moms report that more equality in time-sharing correlates with higher income and more likely feeling proud of her role as a mom.
Other highlights:
- Moms with a 50/50 parenting schedule are 54% more likely to earn at least $100,000 annually than moms whose kids are with them most of the time (with "visits" with the dad).
- Moms with a 50/50 parenting schedule are more than three times (325%) more likely to earn $100,000 than single moms with 100% time with their kids.
- Moms with 50/50 parenting schedules are more than twice as likely to earn $65,000+, and nearly three-times as likely to earn that sum than moms with 100% parenting time.
- 13%, or 1 in 8, single moms have a 50/50 arrangement — and 98% of them are content with it.
- 51% of single moms surveyed have their children 100% of the time.
- Equally shared parenting is popular with single moms: The majority of single moms, 53%, either already enjoy a 50/50 schedule or wish they had it.
- 9 in 10 single moms say they could earn more money if they had more equality in their parenting time.
- Moms with 50/50 parenting time are 34% more likely (23% vs. 15%) to say they feel "awesome and proud" of being a mom compared with moms who care for their kids 100% of the time.
- About 70% of moms who have their kids 100% or majority time feel parenting gets in the way of self-care, vs just 50% of moms with 50/50 schedules.
Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO New America, says this about the project:
"Emma Johnson is focusing on an important and almost completely overlooked piece of the complex gender equality puzzle. She is absolutely right to point out that while social norms around equal parenting may be slow to change, reforming laws and practices governing divorced couples could make a big and beneficial difference for single mothers and fathers relatively quickly."
About single moms in the United States:
There are 16 million single-mother-led parent led households with children in the United States. More and more younger women are having children outside of "traditional" families, with 64% of millennial moms having at least one child outside of marriage (Johns Hopkins).
Mothers overall suffer a pay gap of 29%, earning an average of 71 cents for every $1 earned by a dad — or an average of $16,000 less per year, according to the National Women's Law Center.
This motherhood penalty is dramatically worse for single mothers at 35%. According to Pew Research, single moms with a household of three earn just $26,000 per year on average, compared with $40,000 per year for single dads. The pandemic has hit this group especially hard.
While the majority of children of separated and divorced families spend most or all of their time with their mothers, there is a growing shift towards more equally shared parenting. A review of 60 peer-reviewed studies1 found that children fare best when kids spend equal time with both parents. Children who grow up in families with unequal parenting schedules are at greater risk of incarceration, addiction, poorer mental and physical health and academic outcomes, and lifetime employment and relationship challenges.
Please see the full survey and white paper for your review. Emma is available for an interview and can connect you with single moms to interview.
About Emma Johnson: Emma is founder of award-winning WealthySingleMommy.com, the world's largest platform for single moms, and the bestselling author of The Kickass Single Mom (Penguin). She has been interviewed on single motherhood and gender equality for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Doctors, NPR and more. Emma has spoken about equally shared parenting at the United Nations, at Google, and recently in testimony before the Georgia Legislature's Judiciary Committee on behalf of her organization, Moms for Shared Parenting. Learn more about Emma, and see media appearances here. She lives in New York City.
Contact: Emma Johnson, [email protected]
SOURCE Moms for Shared Parenting
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