If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family?
Characteristic
Prefer to work outside the home
Prefer homemaker role
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Analysis is based on a Gallup Daily tracking study of 4,614 women, aged
18 and older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted
January-February 2016 and a Gallup Daily tracking study of 4,884 women,
aged 18 and older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,
conducted March 2016.
Citation formats
U.S. mothers employment preferences 2016: homemaker role vs. outside job
This statistic shows the distribution of preferred employment status by women with children in the United States in 2016, by by current employment status and age of child. In 2016, about ** percent of unemployed mothers with children under ** preferred the homemaker role over having to work outside the home in the United States.
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Gallup. (October 5, 2016). If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family? [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Retrieved August 03, 2026, from /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/
Gallup. "If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family?." Chart. October 5, 2016. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Accessed August 03, 2026. /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/
Gallup. (2016). If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family?. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc.. Accessed: August 03, 2026. /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/
Gallup. "If You Were Free to Do Either, Would You Prefer Having a Job outside The Home, or Would You Prefer to Stay at Home and Take Care of The House and Family?." ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc., 5 Oct 2016, /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/
Gallup, If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family? ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/ (last visited August 03, 2026)
If you were free to do either, would you prefer having a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family? [Graph], Gallup, October 5, 2016. [Online]. Available: /statistics/780201/us-mothers-employment-preferences-homemaker-role-vs-outside-job/
