A Little Girl’s View on Women Who Work

"Because dads have harder jobs than mums," announced my seven-year-old, stopping me in my tracks, as we pulled into the playground. She was chatting about summer and playdates and conversations she'd been having with friends in school about seeing each other over the holidays. She'd worked out that one of her friends might be around, because ...

Does maternity leave give women a taster for becoming stay-at-home mothers?

Office Mum photo: white wine

Why is it that more women than men stay at home with children? In 98% of families with one parent at home, it's a woman who takes that role. Assuming there isn't a secret world where stay-at-home mothers get to loll about all day in spas sipping Pinot Grigio, there must be something behind it. Here are some theories (discussed here many times ...

Sometimes it’s not so simple

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 ...

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 ...