In 2012, The Atlantic magazine published an article titled, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” The article was written by Anne-Marie Slaughter, a high-achieving career woman who quit a powerful government position to spend more time with her children.
While she didn’t quit full-time work, she got a lot of criticism from feminists who expected her to handle her professional and parenting obligations effortlessly.
Among other things, Slaughter noted that working mums need to stop fooling themselves about the ability to parent effectively while pursuing high-profile careers.
She was of the opinion that it’s possible to have this kind of balance when you run your own business or have control over your schedule.
Is it possible for working mums to have work-life balance?
Working mums all over the world struggle to balance career growth, family, societal expectations, and their own self-care.
I know this for a fact because I’ve been a working mum since 2002. At first, I was in full-time employment. I then moved to my business, where I worked more hours than I used to when employed.
There was a 2-year stretch when I took time off to be a stay-at-home mum. This worked well for some time before I started itching to get back to work.
A combination of the experience of being able to spend more time with my children plus having had a failed business made me realize that:
- I didn’t want to get back into full-time employment again.
- I’m not meant to be a full-time stay-at-home mum.
It was with this in mind that I chose to be a work-from-home mum when I started my next business. This has struck a nice balance for me and I don’t see it changing in the near future.
I’ve been lucky to have experienced both sides of the spectrum. I’ve also been lucky to reach a point where I can choose to work from home. However, not many mothers who have careers or are in business are able to do that.
“Can I have it all?”
I was asked this question by someone who was seeking coaching a few years back. She was trying to make a decision between starting a business and taking up a high-profile job – her dream job.
The job was lucrative, but it would take her away from her family for large stretches of time. It also required a high level of commitment and focus.
More women have asked me the same question in different ways. All of them are high-achieving women who are either mums or aspiring to become mums soon.
It’s a question that was also asked by Kara (Supergirl) in the TV series Supergirl. She was working as an assistant to a very busy and highly successful business owner who was also a single mum.
One day, Kara asked her boss, Cat Stevens, whether it was possible to balance work and family and still get everything done. Cat’s response was simple:
“You can have it all, just not at once.”
That statement has stayed in my mind since I watched the series. It’s also a good kick-off to this series as Selipha Kihagi and I dive into the topic of working mums.
Here are the other articles in this series:
- Common challenges faced by working mums.
- Challenges affecting children of working mums.
- Positive effects on children with working mums.
- How single working mums can get ahead of the game.
This list is not exhaustive and we will update it as we get more information or requests from readers.
Your turn…
We’d love to write more articles to help working mums succeed. Here’s what you can do to help us make this happen.
1. Connect with us
The topic of work-life balance for working mums keeps evolving. We’d like to add more information for working mums in our region and so we welcome your questions, experiences, tips, and resources.
The topics we write about will expand depending on the responses we get from readers. So talk to us in the Comments section of any of the articles in this series.
2. Share this series with other working mums
There are many women who are suffering as they struggle to meet unrealistic expectations from themselves and other people. Please share this series with them so that they too can get help or jump into the discussion.
3. Work with a Coach
Managing life and work/business as a single mum is daunting. This doesn’t mean that you cannot have a great life, while still being fully present for your children. I know this from personal experience as I’ve been a solo parent since 2014.
Book a complimentary Discovery Call and find out how working with a Life Coach can help you achieve success in your career or business in a way that integrates with your personal life.
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