Children benefit when moms work, study finds

A new study finds the daughters of working moms earn more money in their careers and have more leadership positions when they grow up than daughters of stay-at-home moms.

The Harvard Business School study finds daughters of working moms earn 23 percent more than other girls whose the mothers are home all the time.

The study also finds the sons of working moms are more likely to contribute to childcare and household chores when they become adults.

"Working mothers provide a role model to both sons and daughters about how to go out and achieve in the world at large outside of the home, but they also provide a role model for how to balance work and family," said Rutgers University Sociology Professor Dr. Deborah Carr. "The daughter can model her mother, and the son can model his father, and  if his mom is out working, that requires that his dad does a little bit more around the house."

Carr said when mom heads off to a job she enjoys and does well at, it sends a strong message "that women can be moms, and wives and also successful workers."

Carr said another element at play here may also be the additional income a working mom contributes to the family.

"If you have two sets of income coming into a household that may mean the parents have more money to spend on their children's college education, and we know that having a college education is one of the strongest predictors of finding a good job, obtaining higher earnings," she said.

According to Carr, stay-at-home moms are competent, "but working mothers get more rewards and more accolades outside of the home, and that might be the kind of pride their daughter aspires to."