Maternal Employment And Scholastic Achievement: Evidence From North Carolina

Women’s labor force participation rates have been on the rise in recent years. Included in this group are working mothers with young children at home. In a recent news article (Census Bureau News, 2000), the Census Bureau reported that a record number of women with children under the age of one are returning to the work force. In addition, 36 percent of these women are working in full-time positions. The first year of a child’s life is one of the most critical in psychological and intellectual development. The absence of a mother for a significant part of the day may contribute to problems in children’s development. Maternal employment can have various effects, both positive and negative, on the cognitive development of children. Recent studies by Ruhm (2000) and Baydar and Gunn (1991) find that maternal employment has a negative effect on children’s cognitive development in the early years. Factors that may contribute to these negative effects are income effects, education levels of the parents, minority rates and other demographic variables such as divorce and living arrangements. The way in which these factors interact with maternal employment may be what is affecting cognitive development i