Is Baby Talk a Career Blunder for Women in the Workplace?

Posted by Betsy Ribera

When the idea for the JobMom blog was born, I immediately began sharing the concept - discussing issues involving mothers in the workplace - with female colleagues and friends. 

What was their response? 
"Are you crazy?" 

Every woman I have spoken with loves the idea for the JobMom blog and is very interested in reading and contributing to it.  That wasn't the issue.  What was crazy, they claimed, was my willingness to participate in a conversation about mothers in the workplace when I am not even a mother yet.

"Why would you want to announce to your boss and co-workers (not to mention the entire blogosphere) that your clock is ticking?" asked my professional friends.  "Aren't you worried that your boss and the board of directors will look at you differently and give you fewer opportunities if they think you might be starting a family soon?" 

Funny, I've never thought of myself as a walking time bomb,.  I guess I also figured my colleagues would come to that conclusion without me telling them.  After all, I am a 34 year old woman who just hit her one year wedding anniversary.  Anyone who knows me in the slightest knows that I love kids.  If you've spent 5 minutes with my husband you know he'll make the world's greatest father.  I guess I figured they all knew motherhood was probably in my future, so it wasn't something I needed to hide.  Besides, it isn't something I want to hide.  The possibility of being a mother one day is something to celebrate!

The fact that most of the women I spoke to had the same reaction is exactly the reason I wanted to participate in this discussion.  According to the Department of Labor, women will continue to become a greater percentage of the American working population, which means that employers and employees have to dialogue about how businesses keep functioning and women's careers keeping growing despite our biological tendency to give birth.  Pregnancy and motherhood are not subjects that should cause terror for women in the workplace.  They are part of life and life happens, whether businesses want it to or not.  It isn't just about women in the workplace- men are taking on more and more of the childrearing responsibilities as women spend more time on the clock which means that benefits like flexible work hours, telecommuting and child care are critical across the gender lines.

Is there a risk that an interesting project might go to one of the other executives (all of whom are without ovaries) instead of me because I've mentioned motherhood?  I suppose.  Would it be silly for my employer to discount the potential of my future contributions because I might one day be balancing career and motherhood?  Absolutely.