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Almost every working mom I know who works full-time has told me that she would love to do her job but on a part-time basis. And according to a survey that came out last year, nearly 80% of women want to work part-time. Part-time work seems to be an ideal, most coveted arrangement for working moms — one that would allow us enough time to pursue our career ambitions and spend time with our kids and families.
But according to new Australian study (thanks Elizabeth for this heads up!) the reality of part-time work is far from what we might idealize it to be. Read the rest of this entry »
This weekend we went to visit our friends in New York. (I will spare you from any whining in this post about how much I miss New York. I promise. But I do, a lot.) Invariably we got into a conversation about work and how we all work too much, are sleep-deprived, don’t see our kids enough, don’t go on enough vacations, and so on. You know, the usual working families discussion fare. And then the mom said something I think so many of us can relate to: ” I like to work, I like what I do, but I just want to be able to do less of it — to work less than full-time.”
I certainly fee this way. I’ve always worked full-time and in my previous career in investing, full-time meant more than 8 hours a day. I’m pretty open on this blog about the fact that running Work It, Mom! involves working around the clock and usually putting in 10-12 hour days. I rarely complain because I LOVE what I do and I feel lucky to have the opportunity do create something that I think benefits other women. But I am exhausted and sleep deprived (which is starting to affect my health), I don’t see my daughter, my husband, or my family and friends as much as I’d like and I’d love to work less.
The thing is, I can’t. Read the rest of this entry »
About a year ago, as I was going around promoting my book, I gave a talk to a group of immigrant women entrepreneurs. The event was sponsored by Citibank and a woman by the name of Sallie Krawcheck gave the opening keynote. Sallie is the CEO Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management - and one of the highest ranked women on Wall Street. I don’t remember the specifics of her talk so much as I remember that she essentially ran into the room, got notes from her assistant, gave her 10-minute talk, and then ran off to her next meeting. I was in a high-strung too-many-hours finance job at the time, but nowhere near what hers was - and I remember wondering if she has kids and how she does it.
Sallie does have kids and I just read a short interview with her on Penelope Trunk’s blog. Here’s her answer to a question about work/life balance:
When women get up there and talk to you about work life balance, they are lying to you. I work all the time. I sent 220 emails last weekend. The last time I went out for drinks on a weekday like Sex in the City was when I was twenty-two. This is not a bitter comment. It’s a choice.
Reading this gave me the chills and I don’t know exactly why. I am a very ambitious woman and I’ve always worked a lot. I like to work and I think that just because you’re a mom does not mean that you can’t love your job and work hard at it. But something about Sallie’s response shook me. When does she see her kids? Is she ask OK with the choice she says she is making as she says she is?