Celebrating Working Mothers From All Over The World
If you think being a working mother is easy then you need this dose! Motherhood is not limited to giving birth to a child, in fact it also comprises of the responsibility of upbringing children. These two processes are highly influenced by the society, the culture and the workplace. The good thing in all of this is that a working mother “develops the ability of raising a useful member of society and at the same time gains financial independence”, as elucidated in a 2009 research paper titled Working Mothers: How Much Working, How Much Mothers, And Where Is The Womanhood?
Let us dive deeper and explore the lives of working mothers.
Why Do Mothers Work Outside Home?
In her editorial Working Mothers and Their Children, Alberta E. Siegel, PhD shares that maternal employment is influenced by several factors not simply by her desire to work. If you observe the workforce worldwide, you will notice that there are more single mothers than those with working husbands.
Nevertheless, there can be countless reasons why mothers work beyond home. Before the 1970s in the UK, it was hard to imagine a woman returning to work after her pregnancy, but attitudes have changed since then. This is because now there is more leniency towards maternal leaves and compensation than before.
In many parts of the world, women are forced to work during and after their pregnancy to bring additional income. Several times mothers recognize the need for them to work in an office setting or as labor on construction sites only to support their families.
There are also incidents when they want to work because it makes them feel liberated and worthwhile. Many graphic designer moms who work from home can create a schedule that fits work and children. Mom-designer Stephanie Milanowski feels that she’s got the better of two worlds by being able to balance between the career she is passionate about and her children’s milestones.
What Challenges Do Working Moms Face?
While many countries in the world offer leniency to working mothers in terms of maternal leaves, there are still more problems that options to solve them. In an article Working Moms Are Doing Their Part. Employers Need To Do Theirs, writer and mother Mary Beth Ferrante says that, “beneath the sparkle and sheen of that parental leave package lies a systemic bias that plagues hiring and promotions.” Obviously, this is not a fantasy movie where you get whatever you want and there is an imbalance in opportunities and perks.
Another common challenge working moms face has a name, it’s called the “maternal wall bias”. It is when colleagues view pregnant women or mothers as less committed and less competent in terms of their jobs as compared to others. In fact they are also victims of false assumptions like if they work from home, employers think they are home with children (not working). The study Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty? revealed two things: a) women with curriculum vitae not hinting them to be mothers had more chances to be called in for interviews, and b) employers discriminate more against mothers as compared to fathers.
While this may not be considered as a problem, but having to be a working mother in a fast-paced graphic design industry is challenging and exciting. Gabrielle Stanley Blair, a graphic designer and mother of six kids, runs the Design Mom website. Nevertheless, she is a successful example of a woman who manages to maintain the equilibrium.
Are Employers Beginning To Give Working Moms Their Rights?
Mothers from low-income families are required to work under deathly environments such as in factories. With the feminists and rights activist constantly protesting for better working conditions, some manufacturing houses make the effort to improve things. Ruan Meiyin, the Director of a garment factory situated in Fujian province, China aims to help poor mothers make a respectable living and learn to sew.
Some technology companies have taken a step forward to help nursing mothers. IBM decided to pay for moms to ship their milk home to their baby, and also assist them in coordinating via a mobile app. This initiative is not only creative but with it breastfeeding moms can work without having to worry about their little ones.
There are of course many more examples, but the bottom line is that employers are beginning to value working mothers. Those who don’t will also realize sooner or later.
Do Working Moms Differ Around The World?
Illustrators like Lucy Knisley and Nathalie Jomard make drawings to give a glimpse into the lives of mothers and motherhood. From breastfeeding to shopping grocery, they have covered a variety of aspects around mom-child-family relationship.
While you may think that women all over the world share similar experiences when it comes to motherhood, there are still more differences than similarities. For one thing, the challenges and opportunities working mothers have to deal with and receive are diverse depending on geographic location, cultural background and personal motivation. This is also why some mothers leave their home town to work in cities and countries where they find better working conditions and policies.
So to celebrate these inspiring women, we have created an infographic that represents a mother-child relationship with cultural undertones and shares interesting facts about working moms.
