working mothers-juggling career & family
TRANSCRIPT
Working Mothers
Juggling Career & Family
Statistics
• Nearly half of all working women (49%) are mothers. • 47% of women professionals and managers are mothers. • 49% of women business owners or partners are mother• 47% of women in top management are mothers
Mother’s view
Kids are not perfect, but they are not bullies, Kids have nice friends, and they do well in school
Home is not perfect, but it is clean (if not as organized )Career, which has changed several times during the adult life, is certainly not
perfect and always seems to interfere with the expectations as a mother. Proud of children and their accomplishments (and still guilt ridden ), still
looking for the perfect career.Years later also brings to the keyboard and still searching for a career that
provides not only income, family time, and fulfillment, but one that makes feel successful, as if yet to realize that unattainable dream.
Seems cannot totally escape the desire to “have it all” even though common sense dictates otherwise.
Sociologists IdeaSociologists cite the cross-cultural studies showing that the more solitary
mothering is, the less tender the mothering! This runs exactly counter to our thinking, that only if mother is always there can she feel the tender
maternal bond. Mother is always there, she is neglecting her identity and growth, which
puts her mothering in jeopardy. When women are fulfilled in themselves, they have more to give to children. And women today,
raised to fulfill themselves intellectually, financially, and socially rarely feel complete if they give all that up to stay home with small children.
Moms who work are better models because they show their children that all people, men and women, get to have work, love, individuality, and family. If they see mothers pursuing "self," it gives them permission to develop their individuality,
without feeling guilty or sorry for the mom who gave hers up. Sons with mothers who work develop a respect for women's
independence instead of imagining there will always be a woman to "serve" them. The newest long-term study of teens, by the way, noted that divorce or parents working did not affect whether kids turned to drugs, etc. The only relevant factor was
parents who were involved in their children's lives. Working doesn't mean parents can't be involved in the children's lives
Realistic Approach
Juggle-struggle of work and family afflicts mothers across society.
But, for mothers who work outside the home, juggling career and family brings special challenges and
concerns
Celebrity Moms
Soledad O'Brien :coanchor CNNHectic but happy scramble for balance struggling with
the guilt thing ,fulfilling life that includes hubbie, kids and a demanding job.
Julianne Moore : "[I manage] the same way everybody else does who has children and a job. You do the best you can! A lot of
other things -- like your social life -- fall by the wayside."
KATE HUDSON: "I don't think [motherhood is] ever what you expect. I mean, in a sense, I knew I was going to be tired.
Being a mom and a working mom is never easy, everyday, it's just crazy. It's insane."
Mrs. Obama presented herself as a woman who's "had to juggle being mom-in-chief
and having a career for a long time." Work and family are seen as separate worlds
for her.
Stress
Stress – Mothers face a guilt as a result of not spending time with their family & kids
Time happens to be a relative term – 'Quality time' is more important
