Stay-at-home mums should reportedly be paid six figures

Stay-at-home mums often deal with people assuming that their roles are easy, but a recent survey from the US has estimated that they’re actually worth a six-figure salary.

Salary.com has revealed stay-at-home mums would be earning around USD $162,581 (AUD $220,000) a year if they were paid a salary for their motherly role.

“We would like to recognise both professional and stay-at-home mums on their unwavering dedication to their families and other responsibilities,” the site explained before revealing its estimated salary.

It’s a surprising figure, especially given how high it soars above even the median household income of just over USD $61,000 ($85,000) based on 2017 US census data.

With a comparison like that you can’t help but wonder just what this stay-at-home mum salary is based on.

But according to Salary.com it’s all about the data.

“We selected a handful of jobs that reflect a day in the life of a mum,” they explained, then put those jobs through the site’s Salary Wizard to calculate a median salary to apply to stay-at-home mums.

They provided a list of the roles they included, and while plenty made sense, a few raised eyebrows for their tenuous connections to the realities of stay at home motherhood.

Salary.com included positions like academic advisor, buyer, day care teacher and executive housekeeper – roles stay-at-home mums would be totally across.

But claiming that stay-at-home mums also filled the roles of interior designers, magistrates, marketing managers and psychologists seemed like a bit of a stretch.

Salary.com says the study is all about making sure stay-at-home mums don’t go “unnoticed or unappreciated”, but opinions were divided when last year’s study was shared to a US news channel’s Facebook page.

“Try adding up the salary for a working mum who works all day and comes home to do the same thing a stay-at-home mum does,” one frustrated woman wrote.

“I’m a single dad that has to work and do all the house chores as well,” another wrote, “How much am I worth and who’s going to pay me?”

Some took issue with the idea of stay at home motherhood even being considered a job, one writing; “Taking care of your kids isn’t a ‘job’, it should be considered a privilege or a gift and no price tag or salary can be put on that.”

But many stay-at-home mums insisted that regardless of any sums or figures, the joys of raising their children make “each day worth it”.