I've got 4 kids and gave up work after having the last child for 4 years. Dauntingly, I started working again at 39, in a different career, at the bottom of the ladder. 6 years on I am now the manager with a team of almost 30, in a job I love. I've worked hard, and had a great boss who gave me a lot of opportunities whilst still allowing me to do most of the school runs. As the kids have got older, I squeeze a fulltime job basically into 3 or 4 days. I am proud of being able to juggle this so far, and that I've been fortunate to be able to take up the opportunities that have come my way at my age. What upsets me is how it's perceived and belittled. My own mum called it 'a nice little job to fit around the kids', an old friend I bumped into said 'part-time? Are you work-shy?' And then today I got 'retail must be perfect for housewives wanting to fill a few hours' and 'surely people would be wasting their time getting a degree to do your job'
I guess I'm just sounding off today as I'm shocked, but im pretty stunned that these kinds of attitude towards working mothers still exist. Why do I feel I have to constantly prove my worth?