Mom guilt: it’s the darkest of black clouds that threatens to dim the brilliance of a woman’s academic career. It starts early; from second guessing decisions about pregnancy, childbirth and going back to work. The guilt has no set minimum; it can be after minor offenses such as letting your baby, “ride it out” in the baby swing a little too long, buying non-organic produce, throwing out kid art, packing Lunchables instead of homemade Bentos, or using the whisper scream, “Get. In. The. Car.”

Moms will be relieved, however, that when it comes to having a full-time career, there’s nothing to feel guilty about. New research from Harvard Business School shows that daughters of working moms are more likely to work themselves, hold more supervisory responsibilities, and even earn higher wages than women whose mothers stayed home full time.  An international study out of the UK, surveyed more than 100,000 men and women across 29 countries. Data showed that compared to women whose mothers stayed home full time, women raised by an employed mother are 1.21 times more likely to be employed; 1.29 times more likely to supervise others at work, and they spend 44 extra minutes at their jobs each week.

Our sons benefit from having a working mom too. The same study shows that sons of working moms have a more egalitarian gender attitude than sons of non-working moms. They tend to choose spouses that are employed and have less bias regarding woman and men in the work force.  

Watch the full FemInEM talk to hear more about the data, breathe a sigh of relief, and ditch the Mommy Guilt for good.

Watch the FIX19 talk below!