Mothers working long hours are more often self-employed

Mothers who work for 28 hours or more per week are more likely to be self-employed than women with no children living at home. They more often take work home with them and travel to work fewer days in the week.

One quarter of full-time working mothers self-employed

Around 30 percent of working women with children in 2008 worked for 28 hours or more per week. Relatively many of these mothers were self-employed: 27 percent of full-time working mothers were self-employed, compared with 11 percent of women without children. For women who worked for 28 to 34 hours a week this was 13 and 4 percent respectively.

Percentage of self-employed among working women aged 25 to 49 years by weekly working hours, 2008

Mothers more likely to take work home

Among women who work for 28 hours or more a week, fewer mothers than women without children said they did overtime. More of them did take work home with them though. Half of full-time working mothers took work home, for women without children this was 31 percent. Among women who work 28 to 34 hours a week, nearly twice as many mothers as women without children regularly took work home with them.

Working women aged 25 to 49 years who take work home, by weekly working hours, 2008

Full-time working mothers travel to work less

Two-thirds of women without children working full-time travelled to work on five or more days a week. For mothers this was only 42 percent. Nearly two out of five full-time working mothers commuted four days a week. Mothers also worked from home more often than women without children (13 percent versus 4 percent).

Number of days full-time working women travel to work (25-49 years), 2008

Saskia te Riele and Martijn Souren