My opinion…I’ve had 3 conversations this week that have reinforced my opinion that one of the biggest challenges for female leaders who choose to have kids are other female leaders who choose not to.
It’s all “sisterly” supportive until, as an exec with kids, you start to want to put family first.
As one colleague said ‘they look at you like your crazy because you actually want to put your kids in front of your career’.
Sadly, I find this mindset particularly prevalent in female boomer leaders. As a GenX exec, I hope that my generation is a little more accommodating and understanding of our colleagues (both men and women) who are choosing to make their kids a priority.
If organizations want to win the supposed ‘war on talent’, they’ll need to get creative and supportive in how they engage and retain Gen X and Y mommies AND daddies with ambition, or expect a continued increase in entrepreneurialism. Flexibility is the new currency for ambitious people with talent AND kids.
