Single Moms in the Workforce

Written by Suzi Guidroz

No matter what the circumstance entails, being a single mother is hard work. As one may assume, having the full time role of being a provider, while also being expected to raise kids to success can raise some anxiety and understandable concerns. A famous quote from an unknown author proclaims, "Being a single mother is twice the work, twice the stress, and twice the tears. But also twice the pride”. It takes a strong, confident woman to be able to withstand the stress of doing this multitasking in an effective manner.

From running around with kids, to dealing with all of the financial and emotional needs that come with being a single mother, it can be mentally and physically draining. This is both commendable and difficult to maintain, as being a mother can be difficult enough. Getting involved with a demanding career that takes time and effort to build can be highly difficult when you have to devote time to not only advancing your career, but taking care of the lives of others. For example, “Currently in the United States, there are approximately 12 million single parent families with children under the age of 18. Let's do the math - 80% of those families are led by single mothers - that's 9.6 million single mothers. Additionally, 76% of custodial single mothers are employed full or part-time; that's 7.3 million professional single mothers. If there are 155 million employees in the U.S. workforce as of January 2018, with approximately 50% women, then ~77 million women are working in this country” (Cadesca). These statistics exhibit how many women are left trying to figure out how to manage both having a demanding job and taking time for their family.

To continue, Pew Research Center did a study exerting the struggles that single mothers face in the eyes of society. This article proclaims, “Americans were far more likely to express a negative view regarding the rise of single mothers than any other trend: Two-thirds (66%) said that more single women having children was bad for society, and just 4% said this trend was good for society (the remaining 29% said the trend doesn’t make much difference). At the same time, about half (48%) said more unmarried couples raising children was bad for society, while just 6% said it was good for society and 45% said it didn’t make much difference” (Livingston). This set of statistics not only expresses the negative connotation that society throws onto single mothers, but also shows why single mothers in particular face the most stress and execution in the face of society. Seen as commendable for single working fathers, single working mothers tend to be scrutinized much more frequently with no justifiable reason. Although it can be tedious to manage two things at once, it is very commendable to be a single mom in the workforce. This demonstrates discipline, strong drive, and deserves more recognition than people realize. Another thing to take into consideration is that companies should make it a goal to be more inclusive towards single mothers that are struggling to keep up with both the piling workload and the endless list of things to do as a single parent. Companies could help to support single women in a multitude of ways. An article that speaks about the importance of female work inclusion states, “For instance, most workplace

norms are based on an outmoded "ideal worker" standard of someone who is always available. Workers with caregiving responsibilities (particularly single parents) are seen as lesser workers in need of "accommodation." Companies instead should design work systems and processes from the start that recognize all workers have care responsibilities and lives outside of work. Use structured interviews with questions tied to job requirements to disrupt confirmation bias. If organizations use artificial intelligence to sort through resumes based on an always-available "ideal worker," those algorithms must be reprogrammed to account for childcare disruptions, particularly for single parents” (Schulte and Pabst). This author provides a great point mentioning confirmation bias and how jobs need to put a bigger emphasis on re-defining the societal view of what a “ideal worker is” and be more accommodating to assist these women so that they can build their career without the feat of not fitting the given position or ridicule of not being a good enough worker. In continuation with how companies can be more accommodating to single working mothers, an article by “SHRM” Better Workplaces, Better World, speaks on this topic and how this lack of workplace accommodations for single working mothers can cause many concerns. One mother states, “When I ran out of vacation time and personal days, it was sometimes challenging and certainly stressful to find safe, affordable child care,” she said. “The babysitter would cancel, the mom friend who offered to baby-sit would have sick kids, and the drop-in daycare centers have six-hour limits,” she continued. “So I missed a lot of time. It made work tense, it made home life tense, and I did not feel like a good mother or a good employee.” This one, out of many concerns that women face today when trying to advance their careers. Although there is not a current solution to this problem, I believe if we work together as a society and as strong, independent women, we can find a solution to both allocating time for work and the success of raising future leaders.

To conclude, we as a society need to strive to put a bigger emphasis on re-defining the societal view of what a “ideal worker is” and be more accommodating to assist these single working moms so that they can build their career without the feat of not fitting the given position or ridicule of not being a good enough worker due to having to also be a parent. With this conclusion, one must stand that single working moms are teaching their kids a solid work ethic and that we don’t just have things handed to us and we have to work for the things we want. This is a statement of power and strength and as we work to build a legacy for these single working moms, we must never forget the sacrifices and hard work that go into being a single parent.

Works Cited C., Joyce. “Focus on Inclusion: Single Mothers in the Corporate Workplace.” LinkedIn, LinkedIn, 31 July 2019, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/focus-inclusion-single-mothers-corporate-workplace-joy ce-cadesca. Livingston, Gretchen. “Facts on Unmarried Parents in the U.S.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 27 Aug. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/04/25/the-changing-profile-of-unmarrie d-parents/. Pabst, Brigid Schulte and Stavroula. “How Companies Can Support Single Parents.” SHRM, SHRM, 8 July 2021, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/how-compan ies-can-support-single-parents.aspx. Rebecca R. Hastings, SPHR. “Helping Single Parents Succeed.” SHRM, SHRM, 10 Apr. 2018, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-c ultural-effectiveness/pages/helpingsingleparents.aspx.