Why Working Mothers Make Great Business People

I came across this post on the Orlando Sentinel website that inspired me to offer up a different view on why working mothers are desirable talent. The post “Have demands of motherhood made women undesirable employees?” points out how the strain of motherhood may have a negative impact on the perception of women in the workplace. It begs the question of whether employers should extend special treatment to working mothers vs. employees without children.

Financial Impact? You Bet!

I can spew out a bunch of opinions since I am a working mother, but let’s take more of a scientific approach. According to an article from USA Today, women make up half the American workforce. That is certainly a talent pool that cannot be alienated without seriously comprising productivity across the board.

That being said, what do working mothers have to offer the business world? Plenty! From a financial perspective (from U.S. Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises), women owned businesses:

• Make up 26.0 percent of the nation’s 20.8 million non-farm businesses
• Employ 7.1 million paid workers
• Generate $818.7 billion in sales

Talents of the Working Mother

Not too shabby ladies! Working mothers also have enhanced talents and skills that have developed due to the mass of responsibility we take on in our daily lives. Some areas where working moms tend to excel are:

• Being way super organized (balancing home and work gives us plenty of practice to do more with less)
• Queens of collaboration (creating a support network is a working mother’s best friend)
• Not afraid to take risks (conventional rules of engagement don’t tend to stay us)

What Working Mothers Want

When push comes to shove, working mothers are valuable members of the business community. Women will drift towards certain types of employers though. Companies that are family friendly will win the talent war every time when it comes to working moms. Employers that attract the working mother variety usually:

• Offer flexible work schedules (telecommuting full or part time is big)
• Have gyms and/or child care on site (save us time and convenience eases our minds)
• Provide career development and access to growth opportunities (we want career growth too)

Does that mean we should get special treatment vs. our child free counterparts (and the men too)? Of course not! Accountability is key. These policies should be available to all employees. Fair is fair!