Office Mum stories – Helen O’Keeffe

Office Mum photo: Helen O

“I’m a big believer in reinvention and now that my baby-making years are over and the child-rearing stage picks up a pace maybe I’ll completely turn things on their head.  Or just win the Lotto and sit around knitting, eating cheese and slugging champagne for evermore” This week’s interview is with the lovely Helen O'Keeffe, a ...

Things we don’t say to men

SAMSUNG

After reading "Here's why we need to start asking men - how do you do it all?" I started to really think about why we don't ask men this question, and about all the other questions we are asked as women. Can you picture a man being asked any of these: "Are you going back to ...

the work conversation

Mothers: what is the solution? With working outside the home I mean, and the attempts to balance. I have never met a mother with whom I haven't had this conversation - the one about work. All of the below conversations took place over a two week period, just a typical fortnight of interactions: "So you work outside the ...

Office Mum stories: Caitríona Redmond

Caitriona Redmond

This is the first in a series of interviews with mothers; chatting about home and work and family, and that elusive balance that we all seek. Topics range from childcare to career changes, working from home to stay-at-home mothers, setting up businesses, fitting in homework, the ever-present guilt, and mostly, not doing a lot of ironing. The ...

Hitting the glass ceiling (or staying under the radar)

Is there really a glass ceiling for women in the workplace? Or is it for the most part, something experienced by mothers in the workplace? I realise that this is a controversial question but I’m genuinely interested to know if there are people reading who have been held back in the workplace simply because of being female. In my own experience ...

The mommy-track

  Working mothers are being put on the “mommy track” according to an article in the Independent last week.   We have so many terms to learn all the time it’s hard to keep up – for anyone who is not familiar with it, “mommy track” refers to the sidelining of mothers in the workplace.   Assumptions being made by ...