Do you know any superhero moms? You know, the moms who do all the warm and loving things at home while carrying on a full-time career? Celebrating Mother’s Day had us thinking about the powerhouse of career moms. Don’t worry; we aren’t ignoring the stay-at-home moms and their value as professionals. I dig into the life of our CEO, a single career mom, and her mother, Kelly, in this exclusive interview. I talk about the definition of career moms, their unique challenges, and the impact it has on home dynamics.
Women who pursue professional careers must still take care of their families without fail. How amazing are they? We understand how important they are and decided to take a closer look at the world of career moms to see what the professional world looks like through their eyes.
Kelly started off as a stay-at-home Mom, and Roya has always had a desire to create something of her own in business. Both hesitated to enter into the professional careers space. Kelly expressed how she wishes that she could have been a stay-at-home mother and grandmother forever. But the economic demands of our society made it harder. There were struggles for her being a stay-at-home mom as well.
Kelly talked about how when she was a stay-at-home mom, some of the women she would meet would ask, “so what do you do?” She would respond proudly that she was a full-time professional mom. Sometimes, they would give her a feeling that this was not enough. An unfair assumption that is put on stay-at-home moms quite often.
Roya goes on to say, “I felt like sometimes I was happy to have my career ‘getaway’ from being in the house all the time.”
The professional world is changing. The way people are looking at moms is changing. I started off the interview by asking what the term ‘career mom’ means to Kelly and Roya.
Kelly explained, “Being a career mom means I had a plan and a desire to do something outside the home and do whatever inspires me.” She discusses how it was a different kind of work than the everyday life of being home with her kids.
We’re also curious about what it means to you. Does your idea of a career mom match what we found out from Kelly?
Today, the idea that having a plan to do something outside the home as a parent is still difficult, but it was a bolder decision 20 years ago. We love having career moms in the workforce and helping shape what that term entails, and we are proud to have several career moms of our own. Is that something you get to experience in your company life also?
Being a mom in the professional world, you might have to accept that things may be more challenging for you and push past whatever stands in your way. We talked about how difficult it can be for coworkers and supervisors who aren’t parents to be empathetic to unexpected incidents.
For example, if your child gets sick at school and needs to go home, a superior who doesn’t have children may not be as understanding as one who does. Has that ever happened to you or someone you know?
As more moms are entering the professional world, this is becoming less of a problem. It’s even introduced this idea of ‘stay-at-home dads,’ where moms can go out and have careers while dads are home taking care of their kids. Kelly mentions how paternity leave is even becoming common in the professional world.
Also, as more moms become CEOs and business owners, the idea of how similar the two work modes are warranted a closer look at how they connect. We decided to ask our CEO, Roya, what she thought about this idea.
“When you are starting a business, you don’t see yourself as this figurehead until your employees look at you in that way. I realized that I couldn’t be a friend to my employees; I had to be a boss, and as a mom, I realized I couldn’t be a friend to my daughter; I had to be a mom.”
She spoke further about this idea as a professional and a parent; she learned to place distance between those under her and herself to be the authority figure needed to succeed. She described that attitude as learned behavior being a mom and showing proper authority to maintain healthy relationships.
As a career mom, the consensus of our interview is that you never stop. You are always in some work mode, which can be immensely helpful when you are in the workforce. As a parent, you display levels of steadiness and adaptability, which can make you a good candidate for that promotion at work and the kind of person everyone can rely on.
Our career moms give everything they have daily and continue to be a positive force in the professional world, as it catches up to how amazing they’ve always been. Know a career mom who has impacted your life? Be sure to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day!
