In response to a series of articles in the New York Times that claimed that highly educated women were dropping out of the labor force because of "the motherhood movement", Boushey published results of econometric analysis that showed that the opposite was true and that these women, along with women and workers in the economy as a whole, were merely suffering the effects of the U.S. recession and jobless recovery. Bureau of Labor Statistics economists Emy Sok and Sharon Cohany found that, in 2005, the participation rate of married mothers with preschoolers was 60%, about 4 percentage points lower than its peak in 1997 and 1998. Economist Saul Hoffman found that, between 1984 and 2004, the presence of children has had a smaller negative impact on the labor force participation of all women aged 25–44 years.
In response to claims in the New York Times that highly educated women were leaving the workforce due to "the motherhood movement", Boushey presented econometric analysis showing the opposite: these women, along with other women and workers, were experiencing the effects of the U.S. recession and jobless recovery. Bureau of Labor Statistics economists Emy Sok and Sharon Cohany found that in 2005, married mothers with preschoolers had a participation rate of 60%, about 4 percentage points lower than its peak in 1997 and 1998. Economist Saul Hoffman found that between 1984 and 2004, the presence of children had a smaller negative impact on the labor force participation of women aged 25–44 years.