Does A Bias Exist Against Stay-At-Home Moms?

It would seem that women just can’t win in their battle to gain equal standing in society with men. For centuries, women were expected to stay home and care for the children, tend to the house and cook the meals. Feeling held back and undervalued, women rightfully fought for and gained recognition in the workplace.

Now women are being judged for being too involved in the workplace and not offering enough to their families at home. At the same time, women who make the choice to stay home with their children are likewise judged. This raises the question: does a bias exist against stay-at-home moms?

Not a hard worker

The biggest myth about stay-at-home moms is that they never work hard. Somehow, staying home to raise children, clean the house all day, shuttle kids to and from activities and cooking meals is not viewed as work. Taking this concept one step further, some segments of society view stay-at-home moms as lacking a work ethic altogether.

Some incorrectly believe that a woman chose to stay home with her children because she has no desire to work. However, anyone who has ever spent one day catering to the needs of several kids, cleaning up their messes, and shuttling them around town quickly realizes just how much work is involved in being a stay-at-home mom.

Untrained, unprofessional, uneducated

All three of these terms have been used to describe stay-at-home moms. When children get older, many stay-at-home moms look to return to the workforce. Unfortunately, during the process they face a bias that somehow they are less qualified, poorly trained and lacking the professionalism needed to compete in today’s workforce.

The truth is that many women don’t simply sit home all day doing nothing while raising their children. Most stay-at-home moms maintain their individual pursuits, including following current events, reading studies that apply to the educational training, and even pursue advanced degrees online in their spare time.

Not devoted

Hiring managers and society as a whole somehow view stay-at-home moms as lacking devotion to a profession. In choosing to stay home and raise their children, women are often judged for lacking devotion to a career and identify of their own. In reality, many stay-at-home moms have made the conscious decision to put their careers on hold to stay home and play a vital role in the development of their children. That kind of devotion is hard to match in the workplace.