Having a newborn on board has brought a lot of changes – a lot less sleep, and a lot of new gear! But for me, it’s also meant turning up the volume on conversations about balancing “executive-ship” and motherhood.
When Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg came to town promoting her book Lean In, I was there, front and center – alongside 1,000 other eager women and about 10 brave men! – to soak up whatever words of wisdom she might impart. Sheryl says that with women only occupying 14% of top executive jobs today, we still have a long way to go until the workforce is balanced between women and men. She claims this can, in part, be attributed to the fact that households are unbalanced, with women still taking on more than 50% of the household responsibilities in situations where the woman is also working full-time.
I used to feel frustrated listening to speakers talk about work/life balance, because I was positive men weren’t sitting around having the same discussion. But I realize that if we ever want to create an environment that makes it easier for working women to go back to the jobs they love, we have to talk about it. And I think Sheryl is right – in order to continue to grow in our careers, the profile of our responsibilities at home has to look different.
As someone who gains great satisfaction from working, I’m committed to finding the balance to keep it all going. I’m just starting to anticipate what life will be like when I return to the office, but I already have a new appreciation for D+P’s flexibility and for having a partner who will share the workload at home.
I’m so excited to have moved from “executive-ship” to mommyhood… but I’ll be back!
