There's a really interesting article on Fast Company by Jane Swift, Governor of Massachusetts from 2001-2003, and the first governor in the nation to give birth in office: Marissa Mayer. Pregnant CEO. Big Whoop. Swift's story is also inspiring, and I really appreciated her take on the being a mother and having a successful career.

Let’s spend time talking honestly to our daughters--and sons--about the choices available to them. As a mother of three daughters, I feel a particular sense of urgency, especially as they approach their teenage and adult years. Frankly, a decade in, I still don’t get the “mommy wars” or the tired debate over whether women can “have it all.” I have yet to meet any women who think they’ve nailed it on the work-family front, even the lucky and successful ones. Certainly not the friend of mine who made the very hard decision to walk away from a very successful career in computer hardware sales to stay home with her children. She’s now working her way back in to a job at a much lower level a decade later as the mother to three teenagers. I'm no closer to figuring it out myself. Working mothers tend to focus on the sacrifices and the challenges, and I could outline many. Yet, while discussing the ramifications of choices ranging from “go hard, go fast, go high” or “stay at home,” I hope we can also remember to discuss the enormous satisfaction of having both a full, loving family life and a rewarding, demanding professional life. One of the conscious decisions I have made in talking to my own daughters is to, yes, admit how much I miss them on business trips and how terrible I feel when I miss a field hockey game or a musical performance; but I also let them know how much I love my job and how fortunate I am to do meaningful work that improves our education system.

On a semi-related note, I also enjoyed reading Marissa Mayer's thoughts on innovation. Many of these are relevant to the work we're doing here at EdLab.

This is such an important topic. It seems that another positive aspect to Marissa Mayer accepting this new position is that it's promoting people to discuss what it means to be a woman in the technology world and the challenges women face in terms of motherhood and their careers.

It does seem that women are often forced to choose between their careers and motherhood, but I have no doubt that it's possible for women (who want to, not every woman wants to choose this path) to do both.

How can that factor into education? Great question! I think first and foremost to echo Michelle young women need more role models and to hear different ways women have made it possible. Could you imagine an entire course on how women have balanced being a mother with their careers. I know a very successful woman in public relations (a similarly demanding schedule to technology fields) and she has a policy where she works long and late hours during the week, but makes sure that she is with her child on the weekends. Everyone is different and what works for one woman, may not work for another, but sharing success stories is always empowering and factoring that discussion into mba programs, may be what's needed to open up more possibilities for women.

I hope that seeing Marissa Mayer hired as a CEO while being pregnant, changes the perception that women must choose between being a mother or being successful in their career.

Fantastic article. I can tell you that one of the first thing they tell MBA women is that after your second child you're most likely going to give up your career. Great way to motivate and spend $150K. ;-) But in all seriousness this is a very real issue and until employment expectations change in the US this will be a difficult nut to crack.