Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash I spent my only semester in graduate school researching the people who exist at the intersection of work and motherhood: paid working mothers. This is an introduction to the research and experiences of paid working mothers. The lived reality of paid working mothers may startle you, but its not shocking. We know that workplaces have historically excluded women and people of color. However, motherhood in the workplace is typically an under highlighted intersection. I suspect it has something to do with the ideal worker norms ingrained in the workplace. Nonetheless, here’s the research… Why use the term “Paid Working Mother”? “Paid working mother” may sound like an unnecessary and clunky term. Yet, it is used to describe the work that happens outside of the home¹. This word is necessary for a lengthy list of reasons, but the most pertinent being that women’s work inside of the home has been historically devalued and stigmatized; so, I recognize them
