Time, Money, and Workplace Policies: Gender, Race and Class in Workers’ Self-Assessment as Ideal Parents

• In Event: Family Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 12: Policy and Family

Abstract

This study investigates how strongly U.S. working parents view themselves as meeting or falling short of the “ideal parent” standard, and how these perceptions are associated with work-related time availability and economic resources. Using an original survey of 2,243 employed parents from a national probability sample, we examine whether these associations vary by gender, race, and class, and if organizational policies can support these self-assessments. Our analysis shows that greater time availability for family is consistently linked to stronger ideal parent identification across gender, race, and educational attainment. By contrast, greater economic resources are not strongly correlated with self-assessed ideal parenthood for most groups. Furthermore, access to flexible work policies—paid and unpaid leave, remote work, and flexible schedules—is associated with more positive parental self-perceptions, especially when these policies are implemented with strong supervisory support and ease of access. Altogether, these findings suggest that time commitment has become a central pillar of ideal parenthood, and that organizational supports are key to helping parents align their daily lives with these dominant cultural expectations.

Authors

• Yunmyung Cho, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Youngjoo Cha, Indiana University-Bloomington