[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”1px|||||”][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ width=”100%” max_width=”1200px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=””][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false”]As a young woman, I was told over and over again that having a child AND a career<\/strong> was not possible – “You’ll have to choose!” During an internship, I once heard from a Head of HR<\/em>: “I also gave up children for my career. You can’t have both.” Hm … Many years later, I look back reflectively and think to myself, “YOU CAN DO IT!”<\/strong> It has not always been an easy path, but it is definitely possible. Today my three children are 11, 14 and 16 years old and I am happy about their independence. I am convinced that I have learned a lot and developed personally with my children. Along the way, I was “allowed” to look at some internal and external barriers, reflect on them, and decide how to deal with them. One sticking point along the way was certainly the question: How am I a role model for my children?<\/strong> <\/strong>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/femalewakeupcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/AdobeStock_22507896-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Child and career” title_text=”Child and career tips” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.3em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false”]<\/p>\n “I work 30 hours and am responsible for most of the childcare and household chores. Taking time for myself, meeting girlfriends or networking for career advancement – when exactly should I do that?”<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.4em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false”]In Germany, Austria and parts of Switzerland, we still live very traditional roles. “Woman = part-time + children” and “Men = full-time + career” are the socially expected and traditional roles.<\/span><\/p>\n Even without children, women do more care work (childcare, caring for relatives, housework, voluntary work) than men.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2019, women spent 52.4% more time on unpaid work than men<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n For 34-year-olds with children, the gender care gap<\/em> was<\/span> even higher, at <\/span>110.6 <\/span>%<\/span>. At this age, the time burden of a <\/span>career and (young) children<\/span>to care for is often particularly high. On average, a 34-year-old women with children spends <\/span>5.18 hours a day on unpaid care work<\/span>. For fathers of the same age, on the other hand, it is only 2.31 hours a day. (Source: <\/span>statista – “Gender care gap still far too high”<\/span><\/a>)[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.4em”]<\/p>\n There are many facts and figures on the negative effects for women as well as psychological factors for women re-entering the workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of facts and figures<\/strong>, about two-thirds of women in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with minor children work part-time. Thus, these three countries, along with the Netherlands, have the highest part-time rate. (Source: statista) The consequence of this high part-time rate is that 10 years after the birth of a child, women earn 50 to 60% less than before. <\/span><\/p>\n For men, there is no loss of wages due to the birth of a child.<\/span><\/p>\n The consequence of <\/strong>the choice “child or career” is both the financial dependence on the partner and the lack of retirement money. The so-called gender pension gap(G<\/em><\/em>PensionGap<\/em><\/span>) is about 36 <\/span>%.<\/span> (Source: statista<\/span><\/a>)<\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.4em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n When returning to work after maternity leave, a woman is confronted with many prejudices, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Women already need a lot of self-confidence and inner clarity to deal with these prejudices. Also inner clarity and a <\/em>easy-going mindset<\/em><\/span> are often helpful …<\/p>\n In addition, there are our own internal barriers to<\/strong> child and career that exist in the minds of many women. For example, one study shows that 75% of women surveyed (and 55% of men) believe there is a “glass ceiling.” 84% of women believe that women have to work harder than men to achieve the same level of success. And two-thirds of women underestimate their own performance and thus make themselves look small. (Source: Karmasin Research & Identity)<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.4em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/femalewakeupcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/AdobeStock_217624430-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Child and career” title_text=”Balancing child and career” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]Now my private situation is that I have three children, a husband who works a lot and no parents or in-laws here in Vienna.<\/span><\/p>\n From the outside, therefore, a rather “modest” situation. I could have sat down and say to myself, “Too bad, life dealt me some bad cards.” I could have complained, felt victimized and pitied myself. “<\/em>Then I have to do everything alone – no one else does it!<\/em><\/strong>“But that’s not the way I am!<\/span><\/p>\n My path has been to look at my own obstacles, as well as external ones, and to find and walk my path. And you probably know this, too.<\/span><\/p>\n How can I balance children, family and career with a good conscience<\/strong> so that it suits me and the othes?<\/span><\/p>\n Like so many other mothers, it felt liek I received an injection with the birth of the children, which is: “As a mother, you always have a guilty conscience!<\/strong>“I have worked on this specifically and thought about how a balanced life might look like, which is fitting myself, my personality and my family. I have often asked myself the question, “How does a good conscience look like?”<\/span><\/p>\n And then I also decided for myself that the division for children and household is 50:50. And I keep telling myself the phrase, ” I have a good conscience if I do 50% of the childcare and household ch<\/strong>ores. ” <\/span><\/p>\n This sentence and the continuous repetition have changed a lot for me. In addition, I have dealt with the fact that I would like to be a role<\/em> model for<\/strong> my children and the world around me. Are you a role model for your children, customers, colleagues and your team? <\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n On the subject of my own standards <\/strong>(<\/strong>??<\/strong>perfectionism??<\/strong>)<\/strong>, for example, the standard of cleanliness of the apartment and being a “good mother”, I have learned a lot. I keep saying to myself, “I used to live in a clean apartment – now I have three kids.” \ud83d\ude42 At a startup talk I once heard, “Better done than perfect<\/strong>.” I like that. <\/span><\/p>\n On this topic, I have definitely made many steps, learned and developed myself further. I have learned ease and lightedness and want to take better care of myself. I have also documented some of my learning steps in my Videos<\/a>, and on LinkedIn<\/a> I am always sharing my know-how, own learnings and much more. <\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ text_line_height=”1.8em” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The others asked me questions like:<\/span><\/p>\n + Do you think it is a good idea for a nanny to take care of you 6-month old baby in order to work on a big interim project? <\/span><\/p>\n + your children are in after-school care in the afternoon – how come? <\/span><\/p>\n For my extended family – my family comes from the countryside – this was rather unthinkable, although of course my parents saw that I was often stressed and tired and sometimes it just happened to be a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n My parents’ questioned: <\/strong><\/span>why <\/strong><\/span>do you have to work and juggle <\/strong><\/span>child AND a career? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n My answer: “I’m not stupid! Why should I replace something I like to do – my work – with something I don’t like to do – housekeeping, cleaning, laundry – all day long? NEVER!”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ text_line_height=”1.8em” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n My goal was clear: I don’t want to live without one or the other. Only in this way I am able lead a happy, fulfilled life and bring the best of myself in both roles of my life. [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/femalewakeupcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/web220712KatharinaSchiffl_5886.jpg” alt=”Child and career” title_text=”\u00a9 Katharina Schiffl” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/strong><\/span>For me<\/strong><\/span>three <\/strong><\/span>topics<\/span> were<\/span> important <\/span> <\/span> and made a difference:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWhy is<\/span> balancing child AND career so difficult for many women?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What are the implications of the “child OR career” concept?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What are the internal and external barriers to women returning to work due to the prejudice “child<\/span><\/b> or career?<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
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How did you <\/span><\/b>manage to balance child AND career? <\/span><\/h2>\n
What are the obstacles in my mind that prevent me from having a child AND a career? <\/span><\/h3>\n
And how<\/span><\/span>did<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> environment react? <\/span> <\/strong><\/h3>\n
This was and is my path<\/strong><\/span> to child AND career<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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