A thought provoking piece appeared in the Independent this week by Miriam Donahue, recounting how she once broke the glass ceiling but then handed back her promotion in favour of having time with her family. She makes very good points about quotas, about women in politics and women on air. I too believe that at least ...
Tag: working mother
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: Nicola Finnerty
“ Late night in front of the TV with a glass of wine is often where I get my best work done...and don't ask about cleaning, laundry or grocery shopping... that just happens on an as needed basis!” This week in the Office Mum interview series, I meet Nicola Finnerty, who is a Qualitative Researcher for ...
Silver linings
It's two months now since our nanny upped and left after just four days, with no notice and almost no notification of any kind. We were not impressed (the tears are almost visible here). She will be on the family blacklist FOREVER. I spent the following weeks worrying about work and childcare; trying to come up with ...
Office Mum stories: Naomi Lavelle
"I think once you become a parent, guilt is inevitable" "I often feel like I am present physically but trying to work on something myself while doing homework/cooking dinner etc. I feel like I may be around my children a lot of the ...
mummy-wars & shades of grey
The perpetuation of so-called mummy-wars assumes that there is a distinct split between just two types of mothers: those who go out to work in paid employment and those who stay at home with their children. Black and White. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Apparently. And it has reared it's head again this week, with the term ...
Office Mum stories: Caitríona 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 ...
Maternity benefit cut: what message does this send?
Maternity benefit has been cut in this week’s budget to €230 per week, down from €262*. This is getting some attention in the media, but understandably, it is overshadowed by more hard-hitting changes. There have been some comments from ISME, One Family, and from the Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland Orla O’Connor ...
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 ...
Birthday Imperfect
Birthdays. They must be perfect. Nobody ever said that that’s a rule, but it is. If you have children, you want them to remember birthdays as their best days ever, don’t you? And realistically, as a parent of small kids, how many days are likely to run smoothly enough to be considered “perfect”? I’m getting a sneaking ...