Having a working mom can be beneficial for boys and girls in different ways

Working moms are often torn between heading to office and spending time with their children. And there is a lot of confusion about whether it is best for children to have mothers who are around full-time or mothers who go to work and spend less time with them. A new study done by Harvard Business School seeks to resolve the conundrum.

The research conducted in the United States and United Kingdom, found that girls raised by working moms are more likely to be successful in life. Sons raised in homes with working mothers, on the other hand, spend their adulthood caring for family members.

The study analysed data on more than 1,00,000 men and women, to determine whether a mother’s employment status is connected to her child’s outcome in adulthood, CNN reported. The research did not register any significant connection between a mother’s employment status and her children growing up to be happy adults. These children were found to be just as happy as those of stay-at-home mothers.

The study only measured the relationship between a mother’s employment status and her children’s outcome later in life. It did not imply that there are fewer benefits for the children of stay-at-home moms. “This research doesn’t say that children of employed moms are happier or better people, and it doesn’t say employed moms are better,” said Kathleen McGinn, a professor at Harvard Business School and lead author of the study.

The findings were published in April in the journal Work, Employment, and Society. Some of the preliminary research was released in 2015.

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