And this is why terms like “mommy track” still exist
posted in Working Moms, Flexible Work Arrangements |I haven’t been very good in keeping up on my blog reading lately, but a recent post on the Wall Street Journal Juggle blog recently caught my eye. Actually that’s an understatement.
It pissed me off.
Not-so-subtedly titled, “Subtle Ways to Help Avoid the Mommy Track,” the post gives some advice for how women can avoid the mommy track. Avoid it like the plague.
The author opens up her post by describing how:
“… some women may choose to scale back at work after having a child, taking on assignments that don’t require travel or extra hours. But others may wind up on a slower track without asking for it. Are there ways, beyond hard work, to keep that from happening?”
The post tries to frame being on the mommy track in a positive light, but the inherent premise of her article and the resulting uninspiring advice (”Keep wardrobe updated and appropriate (i.e. no frumpy suits)” - like moms are assumed to be frumpy! - is that the mommy track is bad and that being pegged on the mommy track is like being associated with lepers or something.
I swear I’m not being defensive, here. We all know that I wear my motherhood proud on my chest, on my desk, wherever. And I am on the mommy track. I’ve turned down countless projects, assignments, client calls on my day off, because my personal time is personal to me. Has it slowed down me getting a promotion? Most certainly. Do I care? Not really, because I’m not in it right now to be the CEO. I just want to stay in the mix and try to figure out how to get the best of both worlds, which is like trying to climb Mount Everest naked. It’s near impossible. But I, like every working mom out there is just trying to figure it all out as I go.
A post like this furthers the imposibility and reality of making the mommy track work because it fuels the fire that there is such thing as a “mommy track” and that being on it is a bad thing - even if some of us choose it willingly. It continues to create the divide between working moms and employers and doesn’t do anything to solve the serious problems of today’s inflexible and disappointing work environment. The problem that most companies and managers don’t realize that creating flexible and understanding work schedules for your employees by letting them create their own paths - mommy track, daddy track, pet track, whatever - is a better alternative than having your employees hide who they are because they are scared of losing out on projects, promotions and advancement.
So shame on the Juggle’s Ms. Munoz (a fellow working mom) for promoting the negative stereotype and use of a term that incites debate in all of us. The mainstream media should spend its time focusing on helping today’s employers get a clue about what matters most to working moms today instead of promoting outdated fashion advice. We can all afford to go get a new suit, but didn’t our moms always tell us it’s what’s on the inside that counts?
Tags: The Juggle, working mom, mommy track
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P.S. In the vein of full disclosure, I should note that I do contribute to a website called “Mommy Track’d” but as its description states, Mommy Track’d is positioned as “a smart and entertaining resource to help manage the daily tug of war between work and home.” And I’d say, without making any judgments.
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