MOMMY TAX

Mommy Tax - The Price of Motherhood

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Analysis of the Interview1

A tough choice2

The result3

Proposed solutions3

Conclusion4

References5

Appendix6

Mommy Tax - The Price of Motherhood

Introduction

Ann Crittenden (2001) in her book, The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued discusses, that the highest cost that a child brings to the family is not the cost of diapers and school fees but the amount of hit that either of the parent has to take if they decide to leave their job for the wellbeing of their kid. It sheds light on the way women have to choose one over the other. They have to both go ahead with their career and forget about family or, choose to leave their job for the sake of a happy family.

The term Mommy tax, coined by the author Crittenden, is defined by the hit a woman has to take on her income when she decides to leave her job for the sake of starting a family or looking after her children. It is not just the temporary loss of income but the decline that she has to face for the rest of her life. Mommy tax does not only make a woman extremely vulnerable but also penalizes the child (Lewis, 2001).

Analysis of the Interview

I conducted an interview with Florence Hathaway, who is a 38 year old woman. She is currently a stay-at-home mother of two kids, a five-year old daughter and a 14- month old son. Before deciding to quit her job she was working for a local newspaper as an Editor. She discussed with me about her decision to leave her job only temporarily to start a family. She took the discussion in mutual consent with her husband. Her husband was very supportive and they planned that once they had had the baby Florence could go back to work. However, things unfolded quite unexpectedly for both of them. Florence is an educated woman and she believes this is an age where women are at par with men in every field. She felt competitive when she was at work. However, when she chose to quit she could not join the workforce back again. Quitting the job brought a new dimension to her life. She says it is not as easy as it seems. It means a change in your lifestyle. One does not have time enough to go out with friends for dinner, or have work clothes and certainly one does not have any contacts. Prospective employers treat one as if the birth of a child has taken the knowledge and work experience away from a mother. After recovering from child birth, Florence wanted to get back to work. She started a diligent job search only to find a hesitation among employers. They wanted to hire either someone fresh or someone more competent than her and paid no heed to her prior experience. Disappointed, Florence thought she should work part ...