In today’s American society, working mothers are masterful at multi-tasking leaving them over scheduled, over worked, and stressed out!  A significant turning point has occurred in our society recently with the growth of women in the workforce. Women now make up 50% of the U.S. workforce (Shriver Report October 2009). The liberation movement provided women with great opportunities and “equal” access to job opportunities and career paths previously unattainable or closed to women. Women have made great strides and are in more powerful positions than ever before. We haven’t reached total equality in pay or position, but I think we are progressively moving in the right direction. Times are changing! Hillary Clinton demonstrated that this county may be ready for a woman president in her candidacy for president in the last election. Women are powerful and talented. Their contributions to the workforce are significant. However, this movement of women out of the household to the workforce and this fundamental change in the family structure has been a blessing in many ways, but also offers significant challenges. The blessing— women can choose to have economic independence and fulfillment outside the home in the workforce and contribute to their talents to major industries and roles in society. The challenge—the work overload of having two full-time jobs to balance—motherhood & a profession. How do we find balance between the two?

Today’s working mother has to be innovative in managing her work and family life.Today’s family structures are changing and roles are changing drastically. Men and women in committed relationships and marriages are negotiating roles and responsibilities because both parents work full-time. Husbands are participating in non-conventional roles. Some fathers stay at home with the kids, while moms go back to work. Other fathers divide the household chores and child rearing responsibilities. Grandmothers are a great source of support for the family. The other population—single moms, by circumstance or divorce have to manage all of these responsibilities alone without a partner.  Crucial to both two parent and single parent homes are building support systems, by cultivating relationships with those living outside your household who can provide significant help such as: dads, grandparents, siblings, friends, mentors, babysitters, and nannies. Parenting is no longer just a female issue or responsibility. It’s an issue that affects the men in our lives, our husbands/life mate/brothers/fathers/friends, and those whom we work with. So, the responsibility of raising children is not just a woman’s role anymore, it’s a shared responsibility. This shift in the American family structure, the practice of shared responsibility, is one of the blessings! The old African proverb still rings true, “It take a village to raise a child.” Is this shared responsibility happening in your home?