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Editorial
How do Nebraska moms do when it comes to working?
Friday, May 8, 2015
Some of us may long for the old days when family life was like "Father Knows Best," but most of us know it's more like "The Middle," where a working mom struggles to keep food on the table and the washer duct-taped shut long enough for the load to get clean.
Actually, life was probably never really like the old television sit-coms for long -- women went from pioneer struggles that those described in a guest column on this page to the "Rosie the Riveter" years of World War II to today's two-income, or single-parent families.
Many young moms are not buying into the idea that only a paid salary has value, staying home full-time when their children are small, but many others have no choice but to stay or re-enter the workforce.
For many of us, if we want to say Happy Mothers Day, we may have to call her at work.
How easy is it for a Nebraskan to be a working mother?
WalletHub looked at factors such as median women's salary, female unemployment rate and day care quality to create a list called 2015 Best & Worst States for Working Moms.
Nebraska women don't have any trouble finding jobs; the state ranks fourth in the female unemployment rate, with first being the lowest.
They're also doing relatively OK in median salary, adjusted for cost of living, and the gender pay gap, womens earnings as a percentage of mens, at 11th best in the nation.
Access to pediatric services is better than average at 12th national, and they're 13th in the ratio of female to male executives.
Working women in Nebraska are only slightly better than the national average if their single-mom families living in poverty, 23rd best, and they pay more than average for child care and work longer days, both 26th in national ranking.
When we think of Mothers Day, we probably think of some idyllic scene involving a frilly apron, freshly baked cookies and a kitchen table.
If we really want to show her we appreciate all she does, however, helping out around the house to make up for the time she can't be there probably carries more weight than a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers.