Women and Work

Still Frazzled After All These Years?

By Kelly Burgess

There may not be much anyone can do about a judgmental neighbor who thinks you're a terrible person because you put your kid in daycare. Aside from that opinion, women have made great strides in the workplace. After all, it was just in 1981 that actress Lynn Redgrave was fired from her television sitcom for breastfeeding her daughter on the set. Now all but the most intractable employers will make some attempt to accommodate a nursing mother.

Maria Bailey, founder of BlueSuitMom.com, says the future of women's work lies in the work women do. They need to become more visible in jobs that impact the bottom line.

"Too many women tend to take staff positions like human resources or public relations and it's difficult to quantify their impact," says Bailey. "We need to focus more on jobs and positions that directly impact profits so we can have tangible evidence of our productivity. This helps to justify any kind of flex schedule or telecommuting. We have to talk the same language as men."

In Solomon's opinion, we need new language altogether, words to define what she sees as the ideal work/family society.

"We talk about balance a lot in the magazine – other people call it integration or flexibility – but what it's really all about is dealing in a realistic way with all the parts of our lives, not just work and family, but selves and faith as well," says Solomon. "We need to take a realistic look at the way society is evolving and the needs of its children and come up with new words to help us find that important balance. It's not fair or realistic to say women should have this role and men should have that role. We've moved on from there and we need new words to reflect the future of work and family."

Want to see more?

• The Career Challenge: How Moms Balance Work, Family and External Pressure
• CEO of Everything: Balancing Career and Family
• Moms At Work: Is Returning to Work Right for You?
• Talk about it!