83% of women postponing kids to focus on careers

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes … delayed family plans? Eighty-three percent of women over the age of 25 who plan to have children are postponing starting a family to focus on their career, compared to 79% of men, found a recent Harris Poll/CareerBuilder survey.

Wanting to earn and save enough money to provide for their family was the top reason given by both women and men who plan to have children (50% and 53%, respectively), followed by the desire to become more established and get ahead in their career (28% and 33%).

One in seven women who plan to have children (15%) said they are waiting until at least age 35 to start a family. Age 30 is the target for 63%. Men were twice as likely to postpone having children until at least age 35 at 30%. They were equally likely to wait until at least age 30 at 64%.

The survey found that women and men have different career expectations, both in terms of compensation and position. On average, the highest salary men said they expect to reach during their careers is around $137,000. Women anticipate reaching around $79,000 on average.