Last night I caught up for a drink with a girlfriend, Sally (not her real name), who has recently returned to work for her employer of 11 years, in a part-time capacity, after having her second baby. And now she is questioning her worth.
You see since returning, she has a new boss, new team members, and is the only part-timer in the team. All the work and clients she previously managed are going to a colleague 13 years her junior – because he is not invisible – and her bonus was halved with no explanation as to why, even though the company has just had a booming year. She’s also returned to work earlier than many of the other mums in her mums group.
So if you’ve ever felt judged by your decisions before, it simply doesn’t rate a mention until you return to work after maternity leave.
"I just don't know how you're doing it" is not actually meant as a compliment. Via HBO.
We all need to address outdated stereotypes.
One report released this week found that many working mothers are working 80 hour weeks, when you include unpaid work, compared with the average of 58 hours a week for a CEO.
For as long as women conform to the the 1950s housewife test from parenting peers, while doing their darndest to pretend to their colleagues that they can continue to fit the 'ideal worker' stereotype (the Australian Human Rights Commission defined it as 'a male with no caring responsibilities and able to work 24/7'), then the next Supporting Working Parents prevalence survey, scheduled for 2017, will revert with exactly the same findings as the last: