WASHINGTON (June 25, 2007) – The Pew Research Center Study represents a victory for women in the workplace. First, the data represents a generational shift. The Generation X and Generation Y women are stating a preference for part time work over full time work. This seems to indicate that the daughters of the baby boomer women who entered the workforce in the late 70's weren't satisfied with the gains they saw their mothers make in the workplace in comparison to the tradeoffs they made at home and with their families. Rather than continuing to make the same kind of career investment, and the same kind of tradeoff, they are deciding not to put all their "eggs" in the career "basket".
Secondly, their preference seems to indicate a greater level of confidence in themselves; confidence that now only are they employable but that they have many options in pursuing a career -- full time, or part time, now or later.
Thirdly, they apparently understand the shift in economic power that women have realized over the last few decades. These young women know they have the skills needed to continue to drive our growth economy. The fact that they feel they have "choice" is a victory for the generation of women who went before them. Hopefully, the greater choice will result in a lessening of guilt that continues to plague women who chose to work.
