The Self Employed Mom

Mothers, Work and the White House | Apr 10th 2008

I don’t write often of politics, but it hasn’t escaped my attention that there are two very prominent working mothers in the news lately, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

Even though I favor Hillary in the race, I have more of an affinity with Michelle Obama. After all, Chelsea Clinton is a fully grown 28-year-old woman and Hillary doesn’t have to face the same work-family decisions as Michelle, who has two daughters ages 9 and 6.

In a February 28th, 2008 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Michelle Obama was asked how she manages to balance everything on her plate. She replied, “When I’m on the road, I try to keep it to day trips or maybe an overnight. And for the most part, I’m home on the weekends.”

Okay, so she juggles. She also has the benefit of her mother’s help with the children while she travels and does not use a nanny, which I’m sure provides peace of mind. As all of us working parents know, finding good childcare is difficult, and finding affordable childcare is impossible.

But it wasn’t Ms. Obama’s statement about how she manages her own busy life that impressed me, it was her insight into my life as a working mother. “The thing I deal with on a day-to-day basis are the challenges facing working mothers, challenges that transcend race and socioeconomics and class. Women feel guilty all the time.”

That last part about the guilt really hit home, which brings me back to Hillary. She raised Chelsea in the spotlight, and now enjoys the support of her adult daughter. But what does that mean for me, as a working mother today? Can she understand the issues I’m facing as a middle class working mother trying to manage work and family and feeling guilty that I can’t do either very well? I’m doubtful.

For that matter, does Michelle Obama’s inside perspective on the difficulty of juggling work and family mean her husband gets it to? Is Michelle acting as a buffer between Barack and the stress of taking care of the children to the extent that he has absolutely no insight into the difficulties that working parents face?

But whatever my doubts, I am hopeful. I am invigorated. I know they are currently running against each other, but I often speculate that if these two strong women enter the white house together, there could be a very different agenda starting in 2009.
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This article was originally published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, March 8, 2008 under the title, “Campaign spotlights working moms”