Skip to content
Culture & Religion —

Why Companies Should Hire More Moms

Companies should go out of their way to hire new mothers because they are organized, they multitask, they have zero time to screw around and improve the culture of a workplace.
Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

What’s the Latest Development?

After Stacy Epstein had a child, the former VP of global marketing communications decided she would not let motherhood stand in the way of maintaining an ambitious professional career. Prospective employers, however, were not as enthusiastic. So she accepted a part-time position from her mentor, who promised her a full-time position when more funds became available. Today, Epstein is in at 9 and out the door before 4. That means putting in night and weekend hours, but utilizing the flexibility offered by modern communication technology means she does not compromise on time with her family. 

What’s the Big Idea?

While Epstein had never felt that being a woman stood in her way, motherhood was another story. But now that she manages a team of 12 employees, 5 of whom are mothers with children under 5, she understands what a great asset a mother can be to a team: Mothers, says Epstein, “are organized, they multi-task, and have zero time to screw around”; because they are in parenting mode, they focus on ‘doing the right thing’; they improve the culture of workplace by making flexibility a priority and promoting a work-life balance; and because they cannot work as many hours, they are more focused on getting results. 

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people
Related
Guest Thinkers
Happy New Year
It’s plain to see that I’m an optimist, sometimes more than is socially comfortable. The ease with which I dismiss the disastrous economic decline above serves as one example of that. I wrote that the recession will benefit our political system, and, before I cut this line, as having “rewarded our company for methodical execution and ruthless efficiency by removing competitors from the landscape.” I make no mention of the disastrous effects on millions of people, and the great uncertainty that grips any well-briefed mind, because it truly doesn’t stand in the foreground of my mind (despite suffering personal loss of wealth). Our species is running towards a precipice with looming dangers like economic decline, political unrest, climate crisis, and more threatening to grip us as we jump off the edge, but my optimism is stronger now than ever before. On the other side of that looming gap are extraordinary breakthroughs in healthcare, communications technology, access to space, human productivity, artistic creation and literally hundreds of fields. With the right execution and a little bit of luck we’ll all live to see these breakthroughs — and members of my generation will live to see dramatically lengthened life-spans, exploration and colonization of space, and more opportunity than ever to work for passion instead of simply working for pay. Instead of taking this space to regale you with the many personal and focused changes I intend to make in 2009, let me rather encourage you to spend time this year thinking, as I’m going to, more about what we can do in 2009 to positively affect the future our culture will face in 2020, 2050, 3000 and beyond.
Up Next