ENDING THE MOMMY TAX

SWEATOURS is a proud supporter of the MOM PROJECT:  connecting talented women with world-class employers that respect work and life integration.

A Little About Me: 

Despite having a J.D. and years of experience in my field, returning to work after having my 3 children was emotionally and physically challenging. Some firms sent the message:  If you leave to have kids, don’t expect the working world to welcome you back.  

Today, law firms increasingly realize that supporting working parents is good for morale, community, and a firm's financial bottom line. In spite of this knowledge, the attrition rates for minority parents remain disproportionately high. 

Fighting Bias and Unconscious Demotions in a Newly Remote World

My story  of re-entering the workforce is not an anomaly. Though many firms value working parents, just as many hold unacknowledged biases against working mothers. 

For lawyer moms who have successfully on-ramped back into the workforce, they often get slapped with unconscious demotions: when leadership makes a decision for them under the guise of being considerate. An example is preemptively excluding a working mom from lucrative networking opportunities.  

As unconscious demotions pile up, top performing lawyer moms often seek employment elsewhere, spurring high turnover and decreased morale and wellbeing for remaining lawyer moms.

Unreasonable Demands

On the opposite end of the unconscious demotion spectrum, some working parents feel the expectation to perform with a full tank 24/7/365, leaving little to no time for self-care. Sustained periods of stressful, overwhelming work lead to performance issues, burnout and attrition of valuable lawyer parents. 

There is a cultural disconnect between gender based work/home expectations. No one person or impassioned law firm will be able to solve this problem overnight. But if we band together, we can form a meaningful effort to value, respect and support working parents. 

"We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls
"You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful". - Beyonce, Flawless

The best employers don't expect a mother to downsize her ambition: they upgrade their culture instead.  

Through our customized workshops, coaching and speaking events, we'll show you how. 

Contact us below.