The media frenzy over Sarah Palin clearly illustrates the point about women that somehow over the past few years has turned into “wars”, frustration, anger and confusion.  Why is it that women are all supposed to be the same?  act the same? want the same things?  Isn’t that a ridiculous assumption by the mass media?  Unless you are set in the stage of the Stepford Wives, you know that women are not monolithic.  Just as men choose their professions and their personal lives - so do women.  Just as some men aspire to be CEOs and others are content staying the ranks - so are women.

With the single-wage-earning family a thing of the past for most families, the ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ we work is part personal choice and part necessity.  There can be no rules, there are no “norms”.  Each family - each woman must consider their circumstance and determine what is best for them.  That might mean a nanny, a neighbor or a grandmother enter the scene.  It might mean a stay-at-home dad or a stay-at-home mom.  Whatever the choice is - it is a personal one.  You can find studies that say kids with a parent at home do better than kids with two working parents.  That may be true in some families and false in others.  I know parents who work and are raising perfectly fine young citizens.  I have also met children of a stay-at-home parent who are consistently in some type of trouble.  Does that allow me to make a judgment on their behalf? Statistics are only that - numbers with a margin for error.

This has been an interesting year to observe the women running for public office.  It has been even more interesting observing those who are doing the observing … and the judging.  We have a country filled with strong women leaders.  We have a country where women represent 54% of the vote.  Yet somehow, many feel it necessary to bash the Vice-Presidential nominee because she is a mother outside of any “norm” they are used to dealing with.

We (Choose 2 Lead Women’s Foundation) recently released a study done for the U.S. Department of Labor on why highly skilled and educated women leave the traditional workplace. While the specific reasons were as unique as the individuals themselves, the findings of the study (HYPERLINK) include the challenges women face in a workplace that still has a 1940’s mentality. Don’t let our country follow the same trajectory as those workplaces. It is time that we come together to express the value in our distinct differences and our right to be individuals.

This is a complicated time we live in. Recognize and embrace our differences and help this country be a better place to work and live. We each have a role that is uniquely our own. Stand up for the working woman!! Stand up for the stay-at-home mom (also working, by the way). Stand up for the freedom to choose when it is right for you to be both, either or neither!

Choose 2 Lead is about making responsible choices in your work, life, and community that enhance your life. Too often, however, we hear about the daily time struggles that challenge the harmonious integration between work and life. We used to hear that we can’t have it all (at least…all at once). Now, we just struggle to keep up with the daily load of a more demanding workplace, along with needs of children, elderly parents, and a community that is crying out for our support. So, we at Choose 2 Lead ask, is there a better way to make it all work?

Choose 2 Lead Women’s Foundation is a non profit organization that is a catalyst for changing the paradigm of the 21st century workplace, bringing together facts, economics, and social needs to support informed choices by women, employers and policymakers.

Here are the facts…The demographics of the worker are changing. Women are earning bachelor’s degrees at a higher rate than men. There are more women in the workforce than ever before: many are working mothers, and Generation X and Y women possess a new work ethos, wanting to have more balance between work, family and community, carving out a different path of their baby boomer mothers who had to fight for quality in the workplace. Still other women have taken sabbaticals to raise families, or have found a “family-friendly” employer. As baby boomers age and contemplate traditional retirement, there won’t be enough  young people entering the workforce to replace them, and they won’t have comparable experience.

As the needs of workers shift, employers face challenges in retaining valuable intellectual capital. Employers need to develop innovative strategies and adapt their cultures to attract and retain high quality employees. Why? This will help boost productivity, profitability and competitiveness, and instill loyalty.

The bottom line is…We need to figure out a better way to use 21st century technologies and innovative methods to support the working people of today and tomorrow. Traditional one-size-fits-all employment approaches need to be replaced with win-win strategies that benefit both the individual and the organization.

We invite your to explore our site, and contact us to get involved. Thank you.