Single parenthood is a growing phenomenon in the contemporary society. It refers to scenario where a lone parent sustains the life of a child exclusive of material support of the other biological parent. It occurs due to option like divorce, adoption or through naturally non-projected occurrences like death, child neglect, among others (Armstrong, 2007).
The 2009 US census report reveals that there are about 13.7 million single parents. The exigent assignment is how they balance their family as well as employment demands. Grall further asserts that this group of parents is responsible for sustaining the wellbeing of over 21.8 million kids in the country. Single parents have to work to raise children, as well as cater for their individual needs. This means tireless work for this cluster in the society. Whether single through choice or any other means, these parents experience similar confrontations. Appropriate balancing between the two issues requires adequate discussion between the employers and the parents in matters pertaining to their availability and the workload (Grall, 2009).
According to the demography, it is notable that mothers form the majority of single parents, 82.6% while fathers take the rest. The engagement level of single parents in the public sector has amplified in the recent past. Full time assignment has risen from 45% to 53% amid the period starting 1993 to 1999. Furthermore, Timothy Grall found that more than a quarter of single parents are in labor force, but 18.7% were not working in 2007. It is imperative to affirm that the proportion of the employed single fathers supersedes solo mothers. This is factual since mothers exceed fathers in numbers. Moreover, mothers are so anxious regarding their children, as opposed to single fathers. This determines the poverty levels of these parents. In 2007, approximately ¼ of solo parents had their income beneath the poverty line (Grall, 2009).
The catalyst indicates that the information on single parents has changed in the recent past. According to the US survey of 2010, there lived about 9.924 million solo mothers sustaining children below 18 years old. This accounted for 84.9% of these parents, of which 65.4% were under employment. Accordingly, 2.243 million single mother parent families were caring for children under 3 years. It is remarkable that 53.4% of these mothers were engaged. Conversely, there were 1.278 million single fathers sustaining the lives of children under 18 years, and 72.5% of them were under employment. The report further indicates that 207,000 solo fathers were taking care of kids below three years and 70.6% of these parents were under employment (Catalyst, 2011). This shows that there are many single fathers under employment as opposed to mothers of the same status. Furthermore, it confirms that there are added solitary mothers than fathers are.
Stacy indicates that there are realities that accompany single parent and work life. Whenever family and work conflict it results into liability in one area and negligence in the other. Stacie outlines that single parents normally experience stigmatization at work places. Some argue that they would not deliver since they need extra time to attend to their kids. This prompts some to stick to their jobs while neglecting their babies for fear of loosing grip with the employer and other coworkers (Stacie, 2010). A recent study by Dr. Correll confirms that solo mothers are 44% less probable to be engaged than their non-mothers counterparts are, even if they posses similar qualifications. In addition, employers normally offer them low salaries compared to their counterparts. Non-mothers receive approximately $11,000 more than single mothers for a similar job (Stacie, 2010).
There are policies that regulate family and work life for every individual, but employers tend to avoid single parents due to their demands. A sole existing policy is the “Family Responsibilities Discrimination”, which tries to curtail any sort of prejudice based on the duties a worker has to embrace for the family unit. The policy strongly criticizes any move that fails to promote or tender an opportunity to mothers, and instead granting such offers to non-mothers. The policies grants these parents free will from discrimination based on family liabilities. There is a need to offer superior childcare so that the breadwinners can concentrate on their duties at work. The policy further demands bendable schedule for the single families to enable them set at equilibrium job and family lives. There is also a necessitate to grant short-range, as well as prolonged leaves from job that comprise of remunerated days off, sick days and family depart (Bornstein & Weber, 2008). These policies aid in ensuring that single parents get time to attend to their children, as well as other household duties.
Single parenting and work life should be a debatable matter due to the rising concerns. Harmonizing labor and family life becomes tricky; although, some children remain with the house helps. It is noteworthy that most single parents do not have adequate time to attend to their families. Long outlines that 50% of children from single families are poor since most parents are women who are few in the labor sector. He further asserts that these parents face dishonor and prejudice at work places (Long, 2009).
References
Armstrong, B. (2007). Financial Relief for Single Parents: A Proven Plan for Achieving the Seemingly Impossible. Illinois, IL: Moody Publishers.
Bornstein, S. & Weber, J. (2008). Addressing Family Responsibilities Discrimination. Work-family Information for State Legislators, Vol 16.
Catalyst. (2011). Working parents.
Grall, T. (2009). Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007.
Long, D. (2009). Learned Helplessness: The 21st Century Affliction of Single Parents. Milton Keynes, UK: Author House
Stacie. (2010). Single Parents at Work – Research and Perspectives from Professionals. Web.