Modern Family

It all started with a tweet.

Comedian and former Late Night With Jimmy Fallon writer Ali Waller asked her Twitter followers, “If Modern Family is so ‘modern’ then why don’t any of the women have jobs?” The question was quickly retweeted and turned into an interesting discussion about ABC’s hit family comedy.

It’s true: none of the women on Modern Family have jobs outside of being housewives. The two main female characters, Claire (Julie Bowen) and Gloria (Sofia Vergara), are both stay-at-home moms although Claire is currently running for city council. However, the show does have one stay-at-home dad, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), which is something that you don’t always see on a primetime family sitcom. (In fact, the only other example we can think of is Will Arnett’s character on NBC’s great new show, Up All Night.)

While it’s true that the women on the show don’t really have any jobs outside of the home, life outside of the family is rarely a point of focus on Modern Family. It took us a hot minute to remember exactly what Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) does for a living (lawyer) and we are still sorta confused on what Jay (Ed O'Neill) does, outside of being really wealthy. Careers are rarely mentioned on the show for both male and female characters.

Then again, working mothers are common outside of TV land. According to the United States Department of Labor, 68.9% of married moms are either working or looking for work, putting married housewives like the Modern Family moms in the minority. Of course, now that Claire is running for city council, everything might change.

Does the show’s lack of working moms make you feel uncomfortable — and is it sexist? Vote in our poll below.

Sources: Twitter, USDOL