What a surreal time to be a working mom!
Our first gathering of the Working Moms' Collective happened on August 13th, and there are two quotes from the discussion that are still haunting me. Each is from a woman I deeply admire:
We had 20 people attend the Working Moms Launch, who represented women at all stages of motherhood and their careers. These are incredibly strong, talented, and hard-working women who are questioning how working motherhood is possible right now and it was humbling to be part of such an honest and open dialogue. The first part of the conversation was sharing what brought everyone to the call and what they are looking for from this group. The conversation was mostly (all?) centered around the current challenges of trying to balance careers, motherhood, the household, partners, life-changes, uncertainty, and self-care. Through this dialogue, I think that we were able to establish that there is a real need for this group.
We ended the conversation by sharing wins, advice, and life hacks and I think that ending on a positive note was important for everyone’s mental health. I felt that it was a productive introduction to this collective and we were able to gain good insights into some potential next steps.
I have asked the group to send me any next steps or resources that they think would help them to navigate working motherhood. Below are a few additional ideas that this group could help to advance:
There is a need for conversation to occur informally and frequently. Perhaps we formulate a facebook group for this collective where we can share resources, links, events, and engage in frequent and unstructured conversation?
We need to establish a meeting pattern. Would monthly be an appropriate time frame?
We have had some requests for men to join this conversation, as this is a critical time that men are engaging more in household and childcare responsibilities and are feeling that struggle. What is the right mechanism to invite male allies into this space?
How can we continue to broaden support for working moms, particularly as school starts and pressure will only continue to increase?
If you have ideas about any of the above, please contact us at womenindesignpgh@gmail.com or add a note to the comments. Please also be on the lookout for the invitation to our next conversation in the coming weeks. All are welcome to join.
-- Brenna Shaffer