In celebration of Mother’s Day on May 13th, TheLadders released a new survey today revealing that working mothers care more about having flexible hours than any other benefit an employer can offer. The infographic is below, and I think nicely shows what working mothers want, how they are regarded by co-workers and their biggest challenge: Work/Life Balance. It would have been interesting though to get an idea of working moms in leadership roles, and whether they feel the same as all working moms. I would be willing to bet that the question about how co-workers perceive working mothers in leadership positions would have different results than those in the infographic below.
Time and time again numbers prove that women in America are just not getting enough leadership roles. Donald Super, from the National Institute for Careers, Education, and counseling, built a theory of career development that places the prime career building years which he calls "Career Establishment" in those years between ages 25-40. These are also the year when women are most likely to be having children. Every child born to a woman usually means a slight hiccup, or pause in her career. Every time a woman takes 3 months off for maternity leave during these prime career building years, it is a chance that someone without children, or a male, who doesn't have to be pregnant, give birth, or take maternity leave (let alone breast feed) could advance further, leaving the working mom behind. Working moms have to face this challenge, and figure out how to continue to advance their careers, while still taking the time to have children. This is probably the number 1 reason why women have started to wait longer and longer before having their first child. They are hoping to get to a better place in their career, before they take the time they need to have a child, hoping to avoid being "mommy tracked."
I would venture to say that while flexibility is extremely important to me, I have found more flexibility the higher up in a leadership role I am. So are working moms who desire leadership roles stuck between a rock and a hard place? How do we advance when our career when our advancement is most likely to take place during years when we are also feeling pressure (both from society and mother nature) to have babies? What's your take on working moms, happiness in the workplace, and lack of women leaders in the private and public sectors in America? Does it really take getting the the level of Sheryl Sandberg to be able to admit that you do, or want to, go home at 5:30 pm to have dinner with your kids? Can we bring more flexibility into the work place, and will that flexibility contribute to more career advancement for women?
I write this blog post as I get ready to leave the office in the next 40 minutes, to be home for my kids at 4:45pm. Of course, as the CEO of my company it is my call, but I can assure you I will be back to working after the kids are in bed. I also have the option to come to the office early, and set my hours. Would I be working this hard and these many hours without flexibility? Would I give up dinner at home with my kids and family for my boss? It's a question I have avoided by taking my own path, and choosing against joining corporate America. It is a choice I am lucky to have, and wish more women would also have. If all working moms had the option for flexible working hours I think productivity from this group of employees would soar. If only corporate America would see the value that flexibility could bring to their bottom line -- I think working moms would have a different situation, and we would also see more women achieving leadership roles.
