Forget “Work-Life Balance” — Give Us Choices Instead

By Susan Strayer LaMotte, founder, Exaqueo via Forbes Woman
12/04/2012

From Millennials to new moms, flexibility continues to top the list of what women want from work.  Why do we care so much?  Our lives require it. From carpooling and play dates to marathon training and boardroom presentations, we make it all fit — or at least, we try to.  So it’s no surprise that women no longer want to choose between working or staying home, or some combination of those options.

Forget work-life balance. We want a little bit of everything.

The New “Balance” Problem

I met Lauren Sigler and Anne Brinker for coffee—easily spotted by their trademark Stella & Dot jewelry.  Independent stylists for the growing jewelry and accessories brand, Sigler and Brinker are both confident, college-educated moms on a mission to figure out a way to meld work and home in a new way.

The question of working or staying home is decades old. In 1950, women made up less than 30 percent of the workforce. But in 1990, 53 percent of married households had both husband and wife employed.  It wasn’t surprising that the number rose so dramatically. But 10 years later (2010) that number remained unchanged. And according to a 2011 Catalyst study, the number of dual-career households is even beginning to fall.

For American families, choosing to have mom stay home is still about a 50/50 split. It seems to be a yes or no decision, and it’s a big one. For women, staying home means sacrificing family income. Going back to work means investing in childcare and juggling home responsibilities.

Four years ago, Sigler and her husband were both attorneys working grueling schedules and trying to get home to be with their first daughter.  It just didn’t work. When her second child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Sigler knew that a typical attorney’s career wasn’t in her future. Read full article >>