7 Myths of Working Mothers - Why Children and (Most) Careers Just Don't Mix

Jul 31, 2026

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“7 Myths of Working Mothers” argues that the common belief that women can fully succeed both in the workplace and at home at the same time is fundamentally flawed. Suzanne Venker contends that true balance requires planning careers around motherhood, not treating motherhood as an optional add-on. The book examines contentious issues such as women’s equality, family economics, “quality time,” guilt and stress, and the role of day care, using social science research and the author’s lived experience as a mother and educator.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages200

Reading Time5 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Career balance and motherhood planning

Equality and workplace expectations

Family economics

“Quality time” and guilt

Stress and day care

foreword by DR.LAURA SCHLESSINGERTvthsd$1Working MothersWhy Children and(Most)CareersJust Don't MixSUZANNE VENKER AAction of Bookspan'sAmerican Compass Book Club ISPELLING our most cherishedmyths about working mothers,Suzanne Venker argues that womencan never be successful in the workplace andat home simultaneously.Women can achievethe balance they so desperately seek only byplanning their careers around motherhood,rathcr than planning motherhood around theircareers.“Accepting motherhood as a full-timejob,"she maintains,"does not mean womenmust be completely out of the workforce.Itsimply means that while they have young chil-dren women will have to be creative in fittingother work around their primary obligation totheir children." Ms.Venker tackles the most contentious is-sues of working motherhood:women's equal-ity,family economics,the notion of“qualitytime,"women's guilt and stress,and day care.In each chapter,she exposes a different mythabout working mothers,drawing on recentsocial science research and her own experi-ence as a mother and a teacher.The result isa powerful case for the link between the prob-lems of today's children and the absence ofmothers from the home. “If motherhood were viewed as the full-timejob it is,"Ms.Venker contends,“it would notbe considered something we could do on theside,and women would be less inclined to tryto balance career and motherhood,only todiscover,many stress-filled years later,that itcannothe done."7Myths of Working Mothersis a ct our priorities from the feverishpurstfessional success to the moresatisfyiring of our children. S.S.F.Public Library West Orange840 West Orange Ave.th San Francisco,CA94080 S.S.E.Public LibraryWest Orange840 West Orange Ave.South San Francisco,CA 94080 20 AUG DISCARD 7 MYTHS OF WORKING MOTHERS Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2017 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/isbn 9781890626532 # MYTHS OFWORKINGMOTHERS Why Children and(Most)Careers Just Don't Mix SUZANNE VENKER foreword by Dr.Laura Schlessinger SPENCE PUBLISHING COMPANY·DALLAS2004 S.S.F.Public LibraryWest Orange840 West Orange Ave.San Franclsco,CA 94080 Copyright ◎2004 by Suzanne Venker All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,or any information storage and retrieval system nowknown or to be invented,without permission in writing from the publisher,except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with areview written for inclusion in a magazine,newspaper,or broadcast. Published in the United States bySpence Publishing Company111 Cole StreetDallas,Texas 75207 Library of Congress Control Number:2004100721 ISBN:1-890626-53-8 Printed in the United States of America For my mother, the wisest woman I know—and the one personI can count on to tell it like it is. And for my children,Emma and Henry,who make everything else pale in comparison. It takes immense character to be able to give withoutrecognition,to put aside the trivial material needs thatseem so pressed but in reality are so trivial,to havethe clearness of mind and the strength of spirit to lookat what really matters and to give of yourself to makeanother better.And so the next time you question whythe fabric of society is continuing to unravel at theedges,ask yourself what the emotional,financial,andintellectual value of motherhood is. Michael S.Niziol

FAQs

What does the book suggest about managing time with young children?

While accepting motherhood as a full-time obligation, the author argues it does not require women to be completely out of the workforce, but to be creative in fitting other work around childcare needs.

Jul 31, 2026

Upload by Jiven