Women don’t have just two options: work and home or combination of the two. Life is way more complicated than that

The number of women participating in the workforce has fallen in the last 15 years. And that must mean only one thing, according to the New York Times: they are at home with their children, taking care of their families.



The percentage of American women who are employed dropped from 74% in 2000 to 69% in 2013. The Times paints a positive picture, saying that the women who are unemployed are likely to have left their jobs voluntarily, enjoy better romantic relationships thanks to their unemployment, and get to exercise more than they did while working. And while they are interested in working again, it’s only if given a flexible schedule to accommodate their family life.

Does this make sense? Not to us. Women don’t lead charmed lives where they can choose between work and family life. They, too, struggle financially. Women 25 and older have more options than home or the workplace. In fact, data show that those women between 25 and 55 can be found at variety of places – like school, unemployment offices or even homeless shelters.

The trouble with the fairytale picture of more gym time is that it’s the story of women with money and options. Few American women can afford to drop out of labor force and rely strictly on their husbands. If they are out of the labor force, it’s not always by choice and it’s not always because they are pregnant. In fact, the age group identified by the New York Times – 25- to 55-year-olds – are more likely to get back to work after a pregnancy than their younger counterparts.



We took a look at the other factors influencing women to drop of out of the workforce.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest According to the New York Times, women who don’t have to work get to exercise more. Photograph: Inspirestock Inc./Alamy

The truth about American women, pregnancy and getting back to work

The most difficult part of pregnancy, for many women, is deciding when and how long to work. Previous studies also show something else about women 30 and older – they are more likely to take paid leave than their younger counterparts and tend to return to work more quickly.

Yes, older women are having more children. Since 1990, the birthrates from women aged 30 to 34, 35 to 39 and 40 to 44 have been steadily increasing.

And they keep working: the most recent census report focussed on women and their work history prior to having their first child, published in 2011, shows that older women were more likely to work further into their pregnancy. It reported that 78% of 25- to 29-year-olds kept working through pregnancy, compared to under 70% for younger women. For women 30 and older, that number was even higher: 80%. Of those women 30 and older who worked during their pregnancies, 92% worked six months and 70% worked eight months.

Not only did older women work further into their pregnancies; they were quicker to return. For all women 30 and older, just 29% of them did not work during the year after their pregnancy. That percentage was as high as 42% of 22- to-24-year olds.

Women 30 and older were more likely to be eligible for paid leave after the birth of their children and as such were less likely to quit their job.

For women 30 and older:

61% took paid leave



12.3% quit their job



2.8% were let go

For women 25 to 29 years old:

60% took paid leave



17.9% quit their job



3.8% were let go

For women 22 to 24 years old:

48% took paid leave



18.8% quit their job



7.6% were fired



Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Hush darling, Mommy gave up a whole career for you.’ Photograph: Alamy

Sometimes it’s not a question of whether one wants to go back to work.

Jessica Davis, 26, is a single mother of two. Just months after her second child was born, she was back at work staffingthe cash register at McDonald’s. Besides being a single mother, Davis is also finishing her degree in sociology. As soon as she graduates, she will have to start repaying her student loans.

Her five-year-old is in daycare, which she has been attending since she was two years old. Her grandmother watches her now 16-month-old daughter.

Higher education

Another reason women are not in the workforce: an increasing number of women over 25 are attending college – whether for the first time or returning after taking some time off. In 2011, the number of women over 25 who were enrolled in college was more than 5.3 million. That’s compared with 3.75 million in 2000.

About 2 million of those women were full-time students, which could mean they dropped out of the workforce to complete their degree.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest More than 2.3 million women between the ages of 25 and 54 are unemployed. Photograph: Paul J Richards/AFP/Getty Images

Unemployed and looking

There are about 2.3 million women between the ages of 25 and 54 who are unemployed. They make up just 5% of their age group – but they aren’t out of work by choice. In fact, they are looking for work.

Then there are women who were unemployed at first and who looked for jobs. One month of unemployment stretched into another, and another, and another.



Those who have been unemployed 27 weeks or longer are known as the long-term unemployed. In 2013, about 429,000 women aged 25 to 34 fell in that category. Altogether, there are 1.2 million long-term unemployed American women who are 25 to 54 years old.

Lisa Casino-Schuetz is one of those long-term unemployed. At 48 years old, she didn’t leave the workforce to spend time with her children, who are 22 and 19. She lost her job. Then she found a new one – that included a demotion and a pay cut – only to be laid off. And then she found a job with Amazon, only to be laid off again.

“You can’t believe what’s happening to you. You ask: ‘Why me? What did I do wrong?’” Casino-Schuetz told the Guardian.

Before we boil down women’s choices to working and staying at home, it’s important to note all of these other factors. It doesn’t always boil down to having everything – a career and child – or being a house wife. Life is more complicated than that.