Interesting Info for Working Moms

I recently stumbled across the blog of The Brazen Careerist.  Her site is definitely worth roaming around for those of you working to design an interesting and full career, and also have a life.  In particular, she has some witty and thought-provoking things to say about working moms:

A recent article in Forbes magazine urged men to marry women who do not have careers and noted that families fare far better when a wife is at home taking care of the family.   BC responds:

"The point is that marriage and family work best when one person is taking care of them full time. Duh. Everything in the world is best off when it is cared for very carefully. I wish everyone would stop trying to deny this. It’s barking up the wrong tree."  (Emphasis mine - couldn't resist - SO true!  Check out the full posting here.)

She responds to a recent Catalyst study noting that women are still making scant progress towards the top positions with:

"But really, why fight to get more women up a ladder that is basically dysfunctional? We should, instead, focus on helping men to get off the ladder. And then helping both men and women to get meaningful and rewarding work both outside and inside the home." (Full posting here)

And finally, she refuses to be threatened by a "glass ceiling" noting that:

"People used to think that the revolution would happen above the glass ceiling, as more women pushed their way to the top. In fact, though, the revolution is happening below the glass ceiling, where people are reestablishing their priorities. Kids and ambition can co-exist beneath the glass ceiling. Plenty of ambitious people have grand, remarkable achievements without giving up a vibrant personal life. Why would anyone aim for anything else?" (Full posting here).

Comments

[Penelope Trunk]

Hi. Thanks for such a nice summary of my pet topics on Brazen Careerist.

I was reading your bio, and I wanted to send an email to you about it, but I can't find an email address, so here are two things:

1. You say most people stand or fall because of "the basics". Can you list for me what "the basics" are? So curious.

2. I noticed you're intrested in Chritianity in the workplace. I just interviewed Jeff Benedict who has a new book coming out on Jan 3rd about Mormon CEOs and how they intertwine their Mornom values and their work.

-Penelope

[The Career Encourager]

Hi Penelope -

Thanks for your note. I am somewhat of a technophobe so I am way behind on
getting my blog set up properly - I need to get the "e-mail me" feature set
up...

Regarding "the basics" - this list is in my head and one reason I started a
blog was to start getting this stuff down in print. Essentially I think of
(and talk to folks) about the basics in three categories: 1) Look like you
can do the job, 2) communicate (in the broadest sense of the word) that you
can do the job, and - most importantly - 3) have a track record that
provides evidence you can do the job (this is partly about going after jobs
that really are a reasonable fit for you, and it is partly about putting the
work into your career to actually have a track record - i.e., you can't take
shortcuts). I do a lot of pro-bono job-search coaching and it never fails
to amaze me how a few small tweaks in one of these areas can have a
significant impact on the results a seeker is having. I'm glad you asked -
It will get me motivated to start posting more on this topic now.....
Peggy