Mother load: parental-status references in Canadian business magazines

Abstract

This Research in Brief examines parental-status references in profile articles in top circulating Canadian business magazines from 2007 to 2011. The findings reveal significant quantitative and qualitative differences in parental-status references for women and men. In addition to the more frequent references to women’s parental status, motherhood is portrayed less often as an asset and much more often as a potential conflict or challenge to one’s career, than is fatherhood.