jeanneleez
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Great post Sarah. I raised my son by myself since he was 5 months old. He was traveling on planes with me on business everywhere around the world from the age of 6 months onward. Mothers are encouraged to make too many sacrifies "for the family". My work is just as valuable as my partner's (even if the paychecks don't match - that's another article). I've never accepted any special treatment in the office for being a single parent (while I've watched other parents skip out regularly for parent-teacher meetings, soccer practice, etc). I show up on time and do my work, and leave when the work's done. When I had day care and had to be home at a certain time, everyone knew how to contact me at the end of the business day. Slaughter's article reminds me of the saying, "The person who says it can't be done is usually interrupted by someone doing it."
I've been working in startups for the past 25 years. There is a very different office environment than working in other more established companies. People joining startups can volunteer to take on roles that they would otherwise not have been able to move into. It's kind of like an internship - you spend some time in a company getting to know how the company works and decide whether that's what you want to pursue in life. In bootstrapped startups, you have the ability to, say, handle marketing even though you were hired to keep the books. If you enjoy it and the work produces results, this may lead you into a very different career path than you may have thought before.
There is also an element of chaos, both harmful and exhilarating. You never know what each day will bring, what challenges you'll face. You are forced to be creative because there's no money, no staff, and no time. If you can't handle that sort of environment, you shouldn't be working in a startup. If someone asked me if I was a "startup junkie", I'd have to agree with them. I love watching staff grow and reach beyond their own perceived potential. I love finding unique solutions and taking companies to the next level. I love building things, growing things, watching them come to life. That's what I'm addicted to.
@YaronSamid @googleappsexpert Just in case you did not know this, @googleappexpert is right. If you are recommending a company or web site on the interwebs and you have some sort of affiliation with them, you really should acknowledge this. This isn't new netiquette.
Women don't have to give up anything to have children. You can be an effective business woman AND a mother. What has to change is the assumptions made by men (and a surprisingly number of women in your office) that your little bundle of joy will be the "be-all and end all" of every waking minute of your life going forward. The people in your life also need to understand that your work is just as valuable as whatever the men in your life do. Mothers can can make too many sacrifices in the name of family. Rare is the man who will do the same. It's a matter of focus, support, organization and straight out, balls-to-the-wall hard work. When people ask what I'm most proud of? Of course, my son immediately comes to mind, but then comes other life moments and career moments. Building companies, hiring people who are then able to transform the world, that stuff counts on a different scale than my family. They BOTH matter.
Most awesome comments section ever. :-)
Love this. Anyone coming up with an inspiration reel deserves major kudos. I've tried doing this at a nu,ber of companies. How do you actually make this a systemic part of your process?
Why would you expect TechCrunch to know what's going on worldwide? PandoDaily seems much more worldwide in reach than TechCrunch. Beyond that, cause marketing is something too esoteric for developing countries. They're focused primarily on profits and revenue, and they're justified for doing so at their level. NOW. Companies like this will be more important as global concerns realize that their corporate responsibility initiatives all fail in India.