moms carry – A Pew Research Center study of 2,242 full-time working parents shows that while blurred boundaries between work and childcare are widespread, mothers report a heavier mental load, more missed-child activities, and greater difficulty exercising and advancing at
On an ordinary weekday. many full-time working parents say they’re parenting while they’re working—and working while they’re with their kids. A Pew Research Center study makes that overlap hard to ignore. but it also shows something else: mothers describe the strain as sharper. more constant. and more tied to career setbacks.
The study surveyed 2. 242 working parents between March 2 and March 15. and found that 70% of parents say they sometimes juggle work and child duties at the same time. For many, the frustration isn’t abstract. Ninety-two percent of full-time working mothers and fathers say they’re upset when work causes them to miss a child’s concert. sporting match. or other activity—and 65% of mothers say they were extremely or very upset. compared with 45% of fathers.
The picture begins with who is working full time. In households where both mother and father work full time, 52% of families fall into that category. That’s up from 46% a decade ago, and from 31% in 1975. Pew attributes the rise largely to mothers with bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees. happening during a period when women have outpaced men in obtaining college educations.
Looking at 2025 work rates for mothers living with a father. about 56% of moms with bachelor’s degrees and 69% of mothers with postgraduate degrees worked full time. In 2000, those figures were 50% and 59%, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of mothers without college degrees working full time stayed largely constant at 43%, compared with 46% in 2000.
Even outside two-parent households, full-time work is common. In total, 89% of fathers and 59% of mothers with children under 18 work full time.
Where the study draws its clearest dividing line is in how parents describe the “blurred boundaries” between family and work—and how often the mental load lands on mothers. Asked about handling parenting tasks at work. 81% of moms said they do so at least “sometimes. ” while 62% of dads said the same. When it comes to work tasks while with their kids. 63% of moms and 57% of dads said they sometimes take on work responsibilities in that moment.
Luona Lin. a Pew Research Center research associate who co-authored the study. said the major finding is “a large share of parents who experience these blurred boundaries between family and work. ” and that mothers often carry more of the mental load trying to reconcile what their family needs with what their work demands.
That extra weight shows up again in what parents miss most—and how hard it hits. Full-time working parents almost universally dislike being absent for a child’s activities, but mothers report deeper upset. About 55% of parents said they were extremely or very upset. Within that, 65% of mothers said they were extremely or very upset when they missed out, compared with 45% of fathers. When mothers reported being “somewhat” upset, that was 31%; for fathers, “somewhat” upset was 42%.
For some parents, the pressure spills beyond childcare and career into health and downtime. Fifty-eight percent of full-time working parents said they struggle to find time to exercise. but it was more pronounced for mothers: 65% of moms said they didn’t have enough time to exercise. versus 52% of dads. Full-time working moms were also more likely to say they had too little time for hobbies. friends. relaxing. and spending time with their spouse or partner.
Household labor is another place where the study reveals a mismatch. When asked who does most chores, 52% of working families split that answer—but the internal agreement isn’t there. Among full-time working mothers, 63% said they do most of the chores. Only 50% of working fathers said chores were equally divided, and just 25% of fathers said moms do most of it.
Parenting responsibilities follow a similar pattern. About 63% of moms said they do most of the daily parenting tasks, while only 41% of dads agreed. Instead, about 47% of dads said daily parenting tasks are split equally.
Career impact adds a further layer. The study found a sharp gender divide in how parenthood affects advancement. While about half—52%—of full-time working mothers said being a parent made it “a lot” or “somewhat” harder to advance in their job or career. only 38% of fathers said the same. And while 61% of mothers said their job made it “a lot” or “somewhat” harder to be a good parent. 45% of fathers felt that way.
Pew also captured the strain in how parents distribute effort. About 52% of full-time working mothers and 38% of fathers said they felt they couldn’t give 100% at work mainly because of juggling work and family responsibilities. At home, 67% of mothers said they couldn’t give 100%—compared with 50% of fathers.
These experiences sit against a broader economic reality. Despite women’s growing labor force participation and rising college education levels. Pew notes that women still lag men in wages and career advancement. It points to the “motherhood penalty” as a long-running factor behind the persistent wage gap between men and women.
Not every result is purely negative. In households where both parents work full time. 83% of parents said the arrangement had a “somewhat” or “very” positive financial impact. and about half—49%—said it had a positive impact on their children’s well-being. Still. only about 22% said it had a “somewhat” or “very” negative impact on children’s well-being. while about 29% said it had neither a negative nor positive impact.
Taken together, the study doesn’t just describe busy schedules. It shows how the same two full-time jobs can produce different lived realities—especially for mothers—where missed moments are felt more sharply. time for exercise and personal life thins faster. and the push to advance at work meets more resistance.
Pew Research Center working parents mothers fathers work-family balance childcare motherhood penalty wage gap chores mental load exercise time