work or studying compared to their black counterparts (41% or 12 out of 29 white
mothers versus 22% or six out of 27 black mothers). Most (nine out of 10) of the
Asian mothers in the study also did not work outside the home. Table 3 shows that
part-time working was more common among white respondents than black mothers
and, as Reynolds (2001; 2005) research suggest, mothers from black Caribbean
backgrounds were more likely than mothers from other ethnic backgrounds to work
full-time (39% or seven out of 18 black Caribbean mothers worked full-time as
opposed to 22% or two out of 9 black African mothers and 17% or five out of 19
white mothers). The table also shows though, that being a mother of a young child
and working full-time is not an experience that is confined to a particular ethnic
group, white mothers also work full-time, as do those from other ethnic backgrounds.
The research by Duncan and Edwards and also Reynolds does of course suggest that it
is attitudes as well as practices that define a particular stance towards mothering and
paid work.
The belief that being a working mother is good for children, not just in terms of
family finances, but also in providing a positive role model for the child’s own future
and position in society, was only voiced by the black Caribbean mothers in our
sample. It was a view held irrespective of whether mothers were engaged in paid
work at the time of the interview or not:
[By staying at home] you’re not showing nothing to your children, are you,
really? You’re not showing them, you know, a way of life, or you’re not
showing them how to be independent by themselves. You know, you don’t
show them that it’s not all about free money, you have to work, and when you
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