role models

Working Moms as Role Models: Part II - Role models for other women?

Submitted by Peg

Intro to Part I:

A long while ago I wrote a post about the idea that working moms are role models for their children and about the judging that goes on between women including the battles being fought in the, so called, "mommy wars". Well, I have some updates and some additional insight on the issue that I'd like to share.

Here is the second insight that I would like to share and it is about the fact that we may be role models for other women.

My kids attend an elite private school -- the kind that has a college-like application and charges college-like tuition to attend. This is their third year at the school and the class sizes are very small. Therefore, we have gotten to know the other parents pretty well, at least the parents of the kids in our kids' grades. The mommy war is really raging at this school. There are a group of moms like me, lawyers, doctors, busy real estate brokers etc. And, there are a group of moms that stay home. Most of the SAHMs are former professionals that left their careers to stay at home -- a choice that I really respect but that is ultimately not the choice for me. Most, if not all, are pretty wealthy. The judging that goes on between the two groups is fierce and the lack of respect that flows both ways is sometimes shocking.

Topic: Other Career Issues
Optional tags: working moms, role models, Mommy Wars, gender roles

Working Moms as Role Models: Part I -- Role models for our kids?

Submitted by Peg

A long while ago I wrote a post about the idea that working moms are role models for their children and about the judging that goes on between women including the battles being fought in the, so called, "mommy wars". Well, I have some updates and some additional insight on the issue that I'd like to share.

First, I was recently amazed at the fact that my 5 year old daughter is completely oblivious to gender roles. I now think that this is partly due to the fact that I am a lawyer and have always worked full-time. I now think that my decision to work is impacting the way that she looks at the world and that I am a role model -- at least a model for a woman that chooses to make similar choices.

Topic: Other Issues
Optional tags: role models, Mommy Wars, Judging, gender roles

The Power of One

Submitted by Emily Snider

The more experience I had consciously trying to "change" things, the more I realized that in order to affect big changes, a person simply needs to take individual action. My individual action, I decided, was to become a lawyer.

I think a lot of women learn from their mothers how to behave in the world. Sometimes we learn from talking, sometimes from just watching. My mother was a woman who made her own decisions. She didn't make a big fuss about something before she did it. She would think about something, make a decision, and act. When I was in the fifth grade, she opened her own restaurant. It was something she had dreamed about for a long time. She took her time raising me and my two younger sisters and when she was ready, she rented a space, bought the equipment, hired one person to help her, and within two months, she was in business.

Topic: Mentoring and Networking
Optional tags: role models

Mentoring & Judging

Submitted by Peg

I got started thinking about mentoring during one of the panels at the Ms. JD conference this weekend. I can't help but wonder why I've always seemed to have a hard time finding a mentor and holding onto her. Whenever I've been somebody's mentor it didn't pan out as I'd imagined either. In fact, the most successful mentor/mentee relationships that I've ever had have been with men. However, I recognize that finding a woman mentor is extremely important and that, someday, being a productive mentor to another woman will also crucial.