Women Raise Both Families and Economies

By Stephanie Diana Eubank

So, I have written about the fact that I am a working mom of two here in California, and I have been blessed to work remotely as a Subject Matter Expert or SME in the financial industry for over ten years.  And no, I don’t mean I have worked remotely during COVID, and it felt like 10 years.  I have worked remotely as a Subject Matter Expert in the financial sector for over 10 years. Remote work gave me the luxury of having a work/ life balance that many women have not been granted. 

It struck me today when I was reading an article from The Verge.com, and they were talking about the best gifts for work-from-home employees.  And the first few lines of the work read something to the effect that when Dolly Parton wrote the song “9-5,” she did not contemplate remote work. The author isn’t wrong, but I think Dolly would have liked the freedom of remote work.  And to be fair remote work has been a concept that we have had the tools to do on a large scale without suffering productivity since the 80s, so maybe she did.  I know I need my cup of ambition to work from home.

I am ADHD and Dyslexic, so what my husband and I call Squirrel moments…I love Dolly Parton she wrote one of my favorite Whitney Huston sons, “I Will Always Love You.”  I also love her movies.  Ha-ha, I joke with my hairdresser that I have never done my hair because it just isn’t natural, as a paraphrase from one of my favorite lines from “Steel Magnolias.”

Back to the topic, remote work is a crucial tool for women to get back into and stay in the workforce. Part of the inspiration for my research and advocacy of remote work is that it brings more diversity into the workplace.  One group is a particular woman.

According to the MIT Sloan School of Management article published in April of 2022 (and I will paste it in the comments.), women are less likely, statistically speaking, to be promoted.  According to the research of Prof Danielle Li, women in the workplace receive consistently higher performance ratings than men but are 14% less likely to be promoted.

Unfortunately, a big part of the problem is that there is still the old belief that if women get pregnant, they will leave their job.  Or that women are less reliable in the workplace because they have kids or are traditionally otherwise primary caregivers.  Now where women are, according to Caregiver.org, 75% of the US are caregivers to children, the elderly, or disabled persons. However, the PEWs report of October 2022 reads that women are more likely than men to adjust their careers for their family it is not because they are less devoted to their job or less capable but because there is no infrastructure to help them balance work and family. In 2012 PEWs published a report that showed 79% of Americans said women should return to a “more traditional role,” but when the same people were surveyed about what to do about kids with working moms, only 16% said that having a mom that works full time is good for kids?

This is stressed even more when we think about how over 1.1 million women had to leave the workforce during COVID to address the loss of childcare.  And don’t get me started on the topic of maternity leave. 

As a working mom, I have worked remotely for over 10 years.  And no, I don’t mean I have worked remotely during COVID, and it felt like 10 years.  I have worked remotely as a Subject Matter Expert in the financial sector for over 10 years. Remote work gave me the luxury of having a work/ life balance that many women have not been granted. 

Remote work is not a fix for all the infrastructure issues to support women in the labor force. Still, it creates opportunities for women to balance and provide those tools and leadership perspectives that the economy needs while supporting their families. It also lowers stress for remote workers.  As leaders, we must remember a basic economic concept that women raise families and economies.

But if you want real items that are good gift ideas this Holiday season for the Remote Working Mom or Woman in your life, I suggest the following:

• https://amzn.to/3ujd9cf, especially if they have a micro-managing boss or their company doesn’t use Boss Ware ethically.
• https://amzn.to/3HanBu3
• https://amzn.to/3iAXG4n
• https://amzn.to/3OUOgNs
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0798LJDV3/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_apa_gl_i_PYS1YWJDZFCY7DPD8N39?linkCode=ml2&tag=drbear2023-20
• https://amzn.to/3EZEAwm
• https://amzn.to/3Vr0pMD
• https://amzn.to/3UmyThO
• https://amzn.to/3FkzWui
• https://amzn.to/3H30OjS
• This is my personal favorite is the pink one https://amzn.to/3H30OjS

That’s it for this post.  If you want more info on the research behind this post, check out the links below and my Consulting firm’s website. And remember sharing is caring, so like and subscribe.  Also, references are below on the research cited in this article.

I made a post on my Youtube Channel @wickedbofthewest on this topic check me out at the links below.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedbofthewestconsulting/

Twitter: @SDEubank

Work Cited

Johnson, S. K., Hekman, D. R., & Chan, E. T. (2019, February 7). If there’s only one woman in your candidate pool, there’s statistically no chance she’ll be hired. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2016/04/if-theres-only-one-woman-in-your-candidate-pool-theres-statistically-no-chance-shell-be-hired

Somers, M. (2022, April 12). Women are less likely than men to be promoted. here’s one reason why. MIT Sloan. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/women-are-less-likely-men-to-be-promoted-heres-one-reason-why

Parker, K. (2020, August 14). Women more than men adjust their careers for family life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/01/women-more-than-men-adjust-their-careers-for-family-life/

Gonzales, M. (2022, July 7). Nearly 2 million fewer women in Labor Force. SHRM. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/over-1-million-fewer-women-in-labor-force.aspx#:~:text=However%2C%201.1%20million%20women%20left,jobs%20lost%20since%20February%202020.

Fry, R. (2022, February 1). Some gender disparities widened in the U.S. workforce during the pandemic. Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/14/some-gender-disparities-widened-in-the-u-s-workforce-during-the-pandemic/