Equality in co-parenting and time-sharing correlates with higher income and a more positive parenting experience for single moms, according to a new survey.
Mothers 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 dad), according to the Single Mom Income and Time-Sharing Survey. The survey based on a 2,279 US single moms, was conducted by Emma Johnson, Founder of the Wealthy Single Mommy website and Moms for Shared Parenting; to better understand the connection between single mothers’ income and their time-sharing arrangement with their children’s fathers.
Moms with a 50/50 parenting schedule are also more than three times (325%) more likely to earn $100,000 than single moms with 100% time with their kids. They are also 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. In fact, 13%, or one in eight, single moms have a 50/50 arrangement; and 98% of them say they are content with it. Equally shared parenting is popular with single moms; with 34% more likely (23% versus 15%) to say they feel “awesome and proud” of being a mom compared with moms who care for their kids 100% of the time, according to the findings.
SINGLE MOM PAY GAP
However, most moms do not have the luxury of 50/50 parenting. In fact, 51% of single moms surveyed have their children 100% of the time. But nine in 10 of them say they could earn more money if they had more equality in their parenting time. Around 70% of moms who have their kids 100% or the majority of the time also feel that parenting gets in the way of self-care; compared to just 50% of moms with 50/50 schedules.
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, according to Johns Hopkins.
Mothers overall suffer a pay gap of 29%, earning an average of 71 cents for every $1 earned by a dad; that’s 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.
SHIFT TOWARDS EQUAL PARENTING
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 studies 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.
The main takeaway of the study is that more equality in time-sharing means higher earning for single moms. Commenting on the study, Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America, stated: “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.”
Click here for a copy of the full survey and White Paper.
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