Are workplaces Toxic or is it just mom shaming ?

Mom guilt vs mom shaming or just toxic society?

Other day a Co-professional was condescending to me. Exact words won’t be mentioned here out of my respect for people’s privacy, irrespective of behaviour.?

Often people try to belittle without knowing that strength lies in being uniquely you and not in shortcut but the righteous path. Integrity is equally important in a world swindling to get ahead.

There is a segment which is unkind to women esp. working mothers. From my days as editor at magazine , overseeing Foundry, to now practising law , every day I come across those who don’t hold compassion for working mothers. Women are differently placed, working mothers have lesser privileges.

I was mulling over writing this for a while and thought to let it go, but then I came across an article on “mom-guilt” in Harvard Business Review which says “Working moms are chasing the balance of working a job that they want and being the mom that they envisioned. They feel bad about letting their kids, team, or boss down, and also feel guilt about practicing self-care, remorse for not helping aging parents enough, or embarrassment about admitting their stress.”?

Last week the news was filled with vulnerability of Heather Armstrong, posthumously, which has filled the news lately.

In one of my TEDx talks, I spoke on equity. “Women need equity for equality.??One size fits all does not help in empowerment .??Building a family should be recognised as an important step and not a career gap, because it never becomes a career gap for men.”?

Did you know there are so many cases where seniority in paramilitary in India is denied when a pregnant subordinate officer is considered "unfit" because pregnancy is treated as "disability" ? Career gap to raise a family is natural and should be appreciated not abhorred.

?Women in India currently spend upto?352 minutes per day ?on domestic work (according to Organization for economic cooperation and development). Many women quit workforce due to parental responsibilities. So each time, a mother returns to work, support her. Sometimes just showing up for work each day is an accomplishment. She manages a household and work, in the process she often misses out on socialising, her workout, her friends, her alone time while she prioritises basic responsibilities.

Be kind to working mothers, they are raising a generation and simultaneously creating employment for other working women including the household help, who in turn sends her child to school and the ripple effect of change follows.?

Each working mother empowers one more.?A working mother is just a human, trying to fulfil her??potential & make her dreams come true.?

An article by CNN termed “domestic workforce as backbone of economy in HK” . This is also true in India. The invisible domestic workforce is crucial for a functional productive ecosystem .?

To the co-professionals who pass snide remarks, request you to have opinions but don’t judge.?To those who compare me to other men and women, trust me, I’m happy walking in my shoes.