One mom recently shared that she had started in a new position as CEO of her company after returning from maternity leave in a LinkedIn post that has since gone viral. In her post, she shared a photo of herself nursing her baby while leading a team meeting and said she shared it because it’s not something you see every day.
Lisa Conn's post highlights a problem as well: the lack of leadership positions held by women with children. The percentage of C-suite executive level positions being held by women is only 21%, CNN reported. The mom's LinkedIn post reflects the challenges working parents, specifically working mothers, face in the workforce such as a lack of flexibility and opportunities for work-life balance.
The post has received more than 50,000 likes, 1,000 comments and more than 700 shares. Her post and achievements have drawn plenty of support from LinkedIn users, but unfortunately, she's also been subjected to a huge amount of unexpected criticism and ridicule.
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She noted there are very few postpartum moms in leadership roles.
Conn shared in her post that when she returned from maternity leave, she began a new position as CEO of the tech startup Gatheround, and her husband had taken a photo of her breastfeeding while working from home.
“I also feel moved and immensely grateful that I get to make this choice. My husband snapped this picture of me the other day: a breastfeeding mama, nursing her baby, leading a team meeting … Women make up just 21% of C-Suite leadership," she wrote in the post. "Only 22% of women in senior leadership roles have children. The percentage of early postpartum moms in senior leadership roles? Vanishingly small.”
She pointed out that women in top-level positions have better business outcomes. “But research shows that companies with more women in leadership roles have better business outcomes. And women have lower rates of burnout and higher rates of job satisfaction when they’re able to work remotely and have more control over their time,” she wrote.
She said flexibility is important for all of the workforce, not just moms and parents.
In her post, Conn pointed out that flexible work opportunities are beneficial for all of the workforce, not just working parents.
“Flexible work doesn't just open doors for working parents, it's an important driver of accessibility and equity for all underrepresented segments of the workforce,” she wrote.
Conn added that her story was proof. “And my experience as a co-founder, mother, and, now, CEO is proof-positive that it works,” she wrote.
Her post and story highlight an issue many working mothers face: the 'motherhood penalty.'
The motherhood penalty refers to the lack of employment and promotion opportunities working mothers face as well as the loss of pay or reduced wages overall. Part of the motherhood penalty is the mother making less money than the amount paid to fathers. Mothers make 58 cents for every dollar that is paid to fathers according to the American Association of University Women.
Contributing factors are that mothers typically carry more caregiving responsibilities, which leads to reduced work hours.
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Most LinkedIn users supported the mom’s post, but others criticized it.
There are more than 1,000 comments on Conn's post. Although she received a lot of love, support, and applause on her photo and post, it was also met with unnecessary and rude judgment, as well as a healthy dose of misogyny. We probably shouldn't be shocked, but we are.
“That's not an achievement neither something beautiful! I see a baby in front of a screen because momma has to keep on working," one commenter wrote. "Why you had this baby in the first place? If you are not able to sacrifice and dedicate at least the first months of your time to that baby what kind of a mom are you?”
“This is a horrible, horrible message to send to young moms! As someone who started and ran my businesses through 2 pregnancies, I can tell you how absolutely HORRIBLE and emotionally hard this is!" someone else commented.
Other LinkedIn users appropriately celebrated her post.
One user wrote, “Congratulations on your promotion and for being an inspiration to working moms everywhere.”
“Being a working mom is so hard, it’s a constant juggle! Thank you for posting and starting to normalize the reality of working as a mother. Congratulations on your little one!” someone else commented.
Conn did take the time to respond to some of the negativity, but really, what working mom has the time? Like a true boss, she turned the controversy into an opportunity and wrote an essay about it for Fortune magazine.
"There were plenty of detractors, many of whom betrayed a deep and chilling misogyny, barely veiled as concern for my child and her welfare. If I were a male CEO, no one would ask who was taking care of the baby while I worked," she wrote, going on to explain why those detractors need to take a seat and accept that the world is changing.
"When I’m working with the comfort of knowing that my daughter is napping just a room away, I live the promise of flexible work. It isn’t a pipe dream. It’s my reality and it can be the reality for many other working mothers if leaders embrace this opportunity to get flexible work right," she wrote in her essay.
