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Momorandum Archive »
Executive Momorandum
Moms, Moms, Moms
11/20/2009
- Moms, Moms, Moms
Have you noticed? "Moms" have suddenly
become the hottest topic and consumer group; the new darlings in the media, the
new dominators OF the media. It is simultaneously confounding that it has
taken this long, validating that it has happened now with such momentum, and (as
only we moms can make it) filled with myriad amazing statistics and examples,
peppered with some "bad apple" behavior we wish we could banish. So first,
some of the latest stats of interest just published about US... and then our latest blog post
with an opinion about the best and worst of the rise of
digital moms...
Interesting Bits from "The Rise of the Real Mom"
 On
the heels of the much larger Shriver Report on "A Women's World Changes
Everything" which we wrote about, this just published
white paper from Advertising Age and the ad agency JWT explores what
multiple generations of American women want when it comes to family, work and
life in the 21st century. First, a recap on some of the bigger statistical
observations that echo what we have been hearing:
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As other recent studies and government data attest,
women have made great strides in the workforce, with the majority of women
working today - and this study found that women 30-44 especially believe
that work is very linked to who they are. However, there is continued,
rightful pessimism over the gender pay gap (still only 77% of what male
counterparts make)... and only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
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Traditional gender roles still exist among married
parents - whether the mom is working or not - the moms still take more
responsibility for chores inside the house, taking care of sick children,
planning birthday parties and other events, and handling the family
schedule.
Some of the report's more specific highlights (even if we are
tempted to say "told you so" on most):
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Increasingly moms in their 20s, 30s and 40s are not
beholden to perfection; after seeing the impossibility of striving for some
elusive ideal of perfection at home and at work, they are realizing that
"having it all does not require doing it all."
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A decade ago, moms aspired to be "Supermom;" today's
mothers aim to be "pragmatic, efficient and rooted in reality."
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Real Moms want to be real women with interests
that extend beyond their roles as caretakers, providers and nurturers.
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As part of this new pragmatism, there is a growing group
of "core competency moms," (a term coined by author Laura Vanderkam),
comprised especially of working moms who are cutting themselves slack in
non-core-competency area, like housework (called delegating to "Dixie," i.e.
Dixie cups and plates), certain leisure activities (and sleep) to spend more
time with their kids. (The new term for this, according to Catalyst is
"work life effectiveness"). We like it.
Read the complete
White Paper on the Rise of the Real Mom
And the Opinion Piece We Have Been Meaning to Write
for a While...
We invite you to read our new blog post on "The
Greatness (and Occasional Ugliness) of Moms Online." Though we
have always focused on the good in moms (that being what we overwhelming
experience through Executive Moms, and in general, every day), it was impossible
to write about the accomplishments of moms online without also noting the
exceptions, as a way of appealing to all of us to banish those bad behaviors for
good. This is one we particularly hope you will read, comment on, and
share!
Read the Blog
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