Hiring a Working Mom, Myth vs. Reality

We often wonder, how did working mothers get the reputation for being unreliable?  A simple answer to this question is; too many assumptions!  With an increasing amount of mamas in the workforce today, these issues will hopefully become a thing of the past.  The best way to combat these thoughts is to stay the course, remain strong and proud and our work will speak for itself.

In a recent article published by Shannon McLay, Hiring A Working Mom, Myth vs. Reality; she shares some common misconceptions and realities about how moms approach their work life.  There is an overwhelming focus on what working moms CANNOT do; i.e. limited availability, rather than what we can do and what talents we have to offer.


Some of the Working Mom Fallacies noted are;

1) Working Moms Take Too Many Sick Days
2) Working Moms Can Leave At Any Moment to be a Stay-at-Home Mom
3) When Working Moms Work From Home, All They Do Is Laundry
4) Working Moms Put Their Kids Before Work

With an overwhelming focus on the negative attributes mothers bring to the workplace, how are we ever going to overcome this stereotype, or better yet -change the culture or mindset of the places and senior level directors that we work for? How will they ever accept families in the workplace as commonplace, just a part of life, reality and also as a SUCCESSFUL part of their business? How can we prove that being a mom, or having a family does not negatively impact productivity?

The reality is, we cant. But we can decide who we work for and it seems like places like Silicon Valley are getting the picture, but in more conservative or traditional workplace environments -women are getting the short end of the stick. Here are some Working Mom Realities that  were noted in the article;

1) A Working Mom Does Not Have Full Blame for Sick Days
2) Working Moms Usually Become Stay-At-Home Moms Due to Family Finances
3) Working Moms Work Harder From Home Than At The Office
4) Working Moms Prioritize As Needed

Moving forward, as working parents we can only prove our own myth vs. reality, and put forth the effort that our careers demand by also prioritizing the most important people in our lives, our family. With the most recent shifts and advancements in providing employees with better benefits packages, equal pay for equal work, family leave and flexibility -our hope is great.