Are you a new mom or a mom-to-be? Are you worried what will happen after the maternity break gets over? Well, we are sure you are not the only one! Women have to face a mountain of challenges when it comes to their professional life (The fact that only 18.6% of working-age women participate in labour force in India (PLFS 2020) is a proof of that) but the situation gets especially more difficult once they enter motherhood.
Societal expectations
In India, there is significant part of population that still doesn’t understand the concept of working moms. It’s like you can be a team lead or project head at work but you must also shoulder the responsibility of at least 80% of household work, be it through a help or doing those chores yourself. Also, we cannot dismiss the load of expectations that in-laws and extended families have from new moms.
Moreover, Indian women are mentally conditioned to believe that they are born to take care of their families, of which, taking care of the kids is one of their primary tasks. So even if you have a work commitment, it will fall short to second in comparison to the needs of the family and child. Plus, if you keep some help at home or send your child to day-care, you will be labelled as selfish and made-to-feel guilty for such decisions. A new mom is constantly judged on the choices she makes, on how she should be having kids and how she chooses to take care of them, thus making work-life-balance very difficult.
Work- environment
In India, there are a very few companies that provide flexible working hours or creche facilities, which makes it very difficult for new moms to resume their work life. Also, we can’t forget the undue pressure from peers when she leaves early for home or takes more work-from-homes to look after her new-born baby. Also, in many companies, a new mother is never promoted or given new roles because of this bias.
Commute to work or travelling for work
Motherhood is a life changing experience that comes with a lot of new responsibilities. So, many new mothers find it very challenging to leave their infant at home and leave for office. Also, long 9-5 job hours make it a worse waiting period for both the mother and infant. This leads new mothers to choose a different career paths or leave their jobs altogether.
Day care for new-born
In India, there is a dearth of good quality professional childcare. Due to unavailability of resources and safety issues, it is risky to leave your infant under the full-time care of a stranger with no family member around. Needless to say, the mother must choose the well-being of her child and leave her full-time job.
Then, how to be a super-woman!
If you have chosen to continue your career after you come back from your maternity break, let me tell you, you will be expected to be a super woman and nothing less. It needs a completely different kind of effort from you.
Different ways to be a Super woman
You can be a super woman in different way by innovating and switching your career to a more flexible one. While you take care of your baby from home you can also choose to upskill yourself through 100% online education and utilise this time to fulfil your education goals by learning online.
One such perfect opportunity of online education is available through Graphic Era University Online, they have a plethora of courses available in 100% Online mode, which will allow you to stay-at-home and attend live & recorded lectures and give proctored exams from the comfort of your home. And this could leave you with more choices to upgrade while you take care of your baby, and when you feel you are ready and you can manage looking after your child with returning to work, that time you will have better flexible work opportunities.
