The Hybrid Model- A Woman's Lifestyle

Open-minded.

Adaptable.

Creative.

Compromising.

Those words might reflect a woman's attitude when she is considering her master life plan. I took a step back to piece together all the conversations I've had with women and the trends I've seen in the media concerning women's careers.

A woman's role used to be understood as the caregiver with respect to taking care of the home and family. That really has not changed to this day, but this was on a full-time basis. Of course, I think people had more children back then also. That is pure speculation. Feeding the masses was another huge responsibility mothers undertook. Drive-thru grub and instant meals were not prevalent as in today's world. Cooking (and the resulting cleaning involved) takes quite a chunk of the day now, it must be even more back then. For example, I watched in awe as my cousin biked through the streets of Vietnam daily to the local, outdoor market. She would gracefully haggle with the vendors to gather the raw ingredients for the day's meals. That took street smarts. If a guy has trouble in the supermarket, I'd like to see him handle this environment. My point is that there were a lot of factors that called for women to dedicate themselves fully to the home and family.

Then the full-time job turned from the home to the office. This could have been the result of the women's rights movement or a result of the changing economics. Either way, businesses would have reacted to this change by investing in day cares at their companies or teenagers advertising their baby-sitter qualifications. Restaurants undoubtedly benefited from this change and continue to adapt their services to family dynamics.

Now, the trend is to find the happy medium that has the flexibility to handle both the home and work. As the world turns as it always has, companies are opening policies to accommodate these demands, which really is a great movement.

With all this in mind, how is a woman supposed to plan for her future career?

It's no longer all or nothing, it's a hybrid of lifestyles. One quick comment about men. They must balance their lives as any woman does, but men's typical expectations are to work full-time advancing their corporate careers, family or no family. It is by nature a woman changes physically and mentally by starting a family. There are mothers who still work in the office full-time, which absolutely amazes me. It must be so demanding. There are mothers who work at home full-time, which poses another challenge. How will she return to the office again?

The 2-, 5-, 10- year career plans may need to be revisited. A decision block may need to be added to the flow chart diverting the corporate route to a family route that includes an option for part-time jobs. For some working fields, flexibility is an advantage. For other fields, additional college education and certifications would be required to take on more flexible jobs. So, should one plan for a flexible job too?

I have double standard feelings about the whole topic. The media statistically show women are not making as much money or are not reaching the corporate power levels as men, but I wonder if that is a discrimination or a balancing act women sacrifice between work and family. The working mother may not think it is worth even-ing out the statistics by sacrificing her role in the family. She may not focus as much on her career since her family role lies heavily with the kids. In this case, it is a woman's choice, not her inadequacy, to fulfill a high corporate position. That's one reason why I think this is a slow trend. I think it's great that a family can have a financial ability for one of the parents to raise their children. At the same time, I like seeing a woman go to the top of the charts.

I have heard several conversations that dance around these topics, and as with any life choice decisions, there is no general answer. It is a personal choice. For the most part, people make the right ones too.