Working mums ‘feel more guilt than dads’

IT’S common for working mothers to experience a conflict between job and family.

But career women feel more guilty than fathers because of ‘internalised gender stereotypes’, a study found.

Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands asked 135 mothers and 116 fathers to imagine a scenario in which they had a sick child but still had to go to work, while their partner was able to stay at home.

On average mothers reported higher guilt than fathers. Analysis, published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, suggested fathers with more traditional views on gender stereotypes were ‘protected’ from guilt.