The arts is an industry that professes to be so deep in empathy, but we are failing when it comes to caregiver support. What we’re seeing is that caregiver discrimination still exists because of the lack of universal support, the lack of education about discrimination issues, the lack of HR, the lack of consistency in employment.
I wanted to create a model that didn’t exist for me. I intentionally built a company with flexibility, feedback, support, meaning, purpose, and pay equity.
Crystalee is a double business owner working twenty hours per week. Crystalee’s unique perspective on protecting time for both work and family has brought incredible perspective to what is possible for mothers in the modern age.
In law school, whenever parenthood is brought up (a rare occurrence on its own), parenting is often modeled as something to outsource or minimize. I’ve heard advice like “Get an au pair. Communicate with your boss—just let them know that you’ll be offline for an hour so you can feed your child dinner but you’ll be right back on soon.” Those answers don’t work for me and how I want to parent. I want to be involved and present in my kids’ lives. If that stifles my career growth, that’s a sacrifice I guess I’ll have to make. But at the same time, this is the hill I want to die on: parents deserve more.
Elizabeth Jacox had a prestigious academic career, completing a PhD in genetics at Yale. While she had a meaningful maternity leave, a part-time schedule, and affordable child care, Elizabeth still found herself distracted and missing time with her baby. When she became pregnant the second time, Elizabeth evaluated her priorities and realized that she “didn’t love science” enough to stay. Elizabeth remains frustrated at the lack of social support for care work and winnowing options for scientists like her who would like to re-enter the working world after time caring for young children. Still, Elizabeth is making her own sunshine by connecting with adults through mom groups and church, and by building her own small business making clay jewelry.
Ruth was expecting to lose benefits when she went part time, she was able to retain health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid time off, thanks to a manager who advocated for her. Ruth says, “Recruiters have come to me just this week with offers, and I haven’t considered a single one. There’s no beating what my company has given me.” Ruth’s story proves an important point: when companies take employees’ family responsibilities seriously, everybody wins.
Ashley, a military mom, shares her story of working as a soldier and then as a government contractor while trying to balance her growing family.
Jennifer Simpson is mother to five children and works as a compliance specialist for the Department of Education in Boston. She got her Masters of Arts in Communications and Rhetorical Studies from Idaho State and a J.D. from Indiana University. In our interview, Jennifer detailed how she always felt that she needed to equip herself to provide for her family, and how that impulse led to pursue her education throughout having her children. Jennifer turns the narrative of “work first, then kids” on its head, having her first child at 21 and entering law school when her youngest started first grade. Though she has experienced some frustrations entering the full-time workforce at 41, Jennifer says that she would not change her choices if she had to do it again. Enjoy this refreshing and eye-opening interview!
By attempting to discuss what it means to “stay home with kids”, you will give us a much-needed break and perhaps learn a thing or two about a life different from yours.
In our interview we discuss Hannah’s vacillating feelings around work and family, how stay-at-home moms are often left out of polite conversation, and how the government and community could better support families like hers.
