It may be premature to think that contemporary families are egalitarian because wives are working more and fathers are more involved with children. This research contends that egalitarianism is reflected in gender similarity in missing work to attend to children's needs. Drawing from two national surveys of dual-earner parents, familial factors…

Among 1,814 employed women, weekly child care expenditures predicted employment turnover; the effect was stronger for mothers of preschoolers and did not vary by income. Educational attainment was unrelated to use of paid child care, or to quitting among mothers using such services. Contains 29 references. (Author/SV)