Working women hold key to world prosperity

Financial Express -Reuters

A pitbull with lipstick may not be every woman's idea of a role model.

Indeed, many liberal women hate everything arch-Republican US vice presidential candidate and self-proclaimed hockey mom Sarah Palin stands for, even as conservatives are enamoured by her down-to-earth leadership style and jokes such as one comparing hockey moms to attack dogs with lipstick.

But like her or loathe her, women around the globe are fascinated by Palin's juggling act as an aspiring Vice President, governor of Alaska and mother of five.

Combining a career with motherhood is a battle familiar to millions of working women who are often accused of failing to look after their children properly.

"It's seriously stressful having a family and holding down a career. I often feel guilty," said Gill Thomas, a 43-year-old lawyer with a 2-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

"Childcare is alright until the kids are sick. That's when it's a nightmare and I do feel as if colleagues, family and friends sometimes disapprove of my lifestyle."

Getting women to have children and work poses a conundrum for governments who have begun to realise that women hold the answer to the dual challenges of achieving long-term economic growth and boosting sagging birth rates.

Not only do 20 per cent of women aged 25 to 54 work less than 20 hours a week but the maternal employment rate is below the OECD average, says Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank analyst Claire Schaffnit-Chatterjee.

But women who successfully juggle work and children still contend with criticism for, on the one hand, devoting too little time to their children, and on the other, not taking their jobs seriously enough when they stay home to look after sick children.


"When I talk about something my kids have got up to, my male boss crack jokes about how I'd be better off at home. It's offputting," said a female professional in Germany who requested anonymity.