Valuating Mom
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Ever wonder how much a good mom is worth? Of course, the answer from husbands and children across the world should be “priceless,” but Salary.com has released some solid stats.
By valuating the time moms spend doing typical “mom” jobs, from housekeeper to CEO, the Web site determined that a typical stay-at-home mom’s salary should be $116,805. A working mom’s “at-home” salary, not counting what she earns at her day job, would earn her $68,405.
Before working moms get all in-arms and claim they work every bit as hard (or harder) than stay-at-home moms do, be aware that the salary is based on hours spent performing specific job duties. Stay-at-home moms spend more time being moms (almost twice as much), because they are home more.
According to the Salary.com report, a stay-at-home mom works 94.4 hours, resulting in tons of overtime! Working moms spend 54.6 hours on “motherly duties,” in addition to an average of 40 hours a week at their job.
Some working moms aren’t happy with the assessment. A blogger at the Time Magazine Web site just can’t see how working moms could net less pay than stay-at-home moms. Her assertion is that working moms (and dads) perform the same duties as stay-at-home moms, albeit in less time (more efficiently.)
There’s one growing group, however, left out of Salary.com’s study entirely: work-at-home moms. WAHMs often multi-task child-rearing, housework, household management, plus similar duties that working moms perform outside the home—all in the same place, often at the same time. How much exactly is that worth?
You can get your own customized report, based on your number of children, the time you spend doing various household and motherly tasks, and even average salaries in your region, through the Mom Salary Wizard at Salary.com. Then you can print out a paycheck for yourself or that special someone.
I’d advise caution, however. If the IRS finds out about this, they may just try to determine mom’s “salary” as “taxable income.”
Tags: mom's worth, SAHM, working mom
Erika says...
Great post Dawn!
You know how that old adage goes: “A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.” Couldn’t be more true for SAHMs and WAHMs, I think.
Science-mom says...
Thanks, Dawn. I suddenly feel “valuable” folding the laundry and mopping the floor
C. Erickson says...
“Her assertion is that working moms (and dads) perform the same duties as stay-at-home moms, albeit in less time (more efficiently.)”
I think it’s a moot point. They add the pay from their day jobs to the $64,000 and that gives them how much they’re supposedly “worth.”
But what’s up with them arguing about this, anyway? If stay-at-home moms arent really worth more than working or work-at-home moms, why does daycare cost so much darn money?
Let’s solve the problem by acknowledging that moms are priceless, as you said, whatever arrangement they’ve chosen. We are! We are totally cool. Moms rock!
Dawn Allcot says...
C–
Yep… you got it. The working moms who complained failed to do the “math” before complaining about their “perceived value.” It seems whatever arrangement we choose, women can’t win–*someone* is going to complain or look down at us.
So the best thing women can do is choose what is best for them, their family, and their finances.
Thanks Erika and Science-mom (although I hope you’re being facetious, Science… you deserve to feel valuable *all the time!*) [Hugs]