Underpaid mothers

At first, this article made me laugh. But as I continued to read, I realized how very serious they were.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t laugh because I think mothers aren’t worth that. The article indicates that if a mother were to get paid for the many roles she plays at home, she would earn approximately $134,121 annually. That’s for a stay-at-home mom. For mothers that have full-time jobs and then come home to do all the motherly things, they should get an additional $85,876 on top of their actual salary.

I totally agree with thier assesment, but I didn’t think anyone would actually put numbers on it. Most people know that mothers work harder than many full-time employees.

But any mother is going to tell you that they do it for the love of their kids. And that’s a good thing. If we started paying mothers, what kind of world would this become? It’s not one of those responsilities that requires money. It’s the blessings of raising children properly and then seeing them grow and eventually contribute to society.

My wife is completly happy with her $700/month budget 😉

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6 Responses

  1. Emily says:

    I agree. Money would totally de-value motherhood. I love my “job” and would not trade it for the world. I just feel bad for the moms who have to work outside the home. Now about the 700 a month…ok, ok, I guess it’s reasonable 🙂

  2. Craig says:

    Interesting thesis, dubious methodology.

    Here again were the jobs used for comparison: “housekeeper, day-care teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive and psychologist”.

    I think one would be hard-pressed to argue that these aren’t highly strained analogies. Would your state certify every mother as a clinical psychologist? Would AOL hire every mother as a computer operator? Would a five-star restaurant hire every mother as their chef? Would Pepsi want every mother for their CEO?

    It’s clear that they broke down the average mother’s day into hours spent accomplishing each role and tried to find comparable professions, but the problem is that even in the comparable professions the level of training and professional responsibility is not the same. Consider the scaling factors alone in translating the CEO position in an average company with the position as the family’s chief executive, especially given the average family’s negligible revenues. 🙂

    I’m inclined to believe that the most comparable role listed is that of day-care teacher, although in-home daycare operator would be even better. So, just ask my mom what she makes in that position and you’re probably pretty close to the market value of mothering.

  3. Reluctant says:

    Craig, You destroyed the fun of this post 😉 You are probably right, but it’s still fun to try to put a dollar value on what mothers do.

    And of course, we all know there are worth more than what the article indicated.

  4. Zac says:

    Well, that’s a new idea. But there seems to be something wrong with the idea that a mother gets paid for doing her job. It would be like a college athlete getting paid to play, but even more extreme. I do think the mother is deserving, but the idea is a little creepy. It’s almost like her family would become the employer and she would be demoted from a mother to a super-nanny. Ughh!

  5. Emily says:

    It kind of devalues the Mother role. Doesn’t make it as noble of a calling eh? emphasize the word “calling.” But don’t get me wrong, I could always use the extra moola!

  6. Emily says:

    Sorry, I commented twice saying some of the same stuff. Bare with me, I’m lacking sleep.

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