The role of women in the workplace is such that most businesses would cease to operate without their contributions. And balancing work life with the needs of child-rearing has also been a fact of life for both men and women. However, researchers from the University of Calgary have recently reported that the relationship between gender, parental status and work productivity is rather complex.

Jean Wallace and Marisa Young studied the number of hours that 670 Canadian lawyers billed their clients in the past year. The strongest finding was that childless women get the most work done. Women without children were more productive than childless male lawyers and lawyers of either gender who have children.

The researchers also found that being a parent impacts the productivity of men and women in different ways. Male lawyers with children were significantly more productive than male lawyers without children. By contrast, female lawyers with children were less productive than their childless female colleagues.

The researchers further found that female lawyers with children often had to maintain both professional and domestic responsibilities. These professional women usually had a spouse who also worked. Thus the researchers found that most of their “free” time was spent enhancing and maintaining their family lives.

However, male lawyers who were parents most often had spouses who did not work. Thus male professionals did not have to juggle both professional and domestic roles to the degree professional women did.

Further Reading:

WALLACE, J., YOUNG, M. (2008). Parenthood and productivity: A study of demands, resources and family-friendly firms. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(1), 110-122.