Thank you so much for sharing your story and also addressing some bias you
may have when it comes to working with non-working women. This one hits home for me because I ended up giving up my career after marriage. It was a huge, frightening sacrifice but I am looking forward to getting back to work for internship and eventually contributing financially after being licensed as a
counselor. It is a very vulnerable feeling not being able to contribute financially but I realize how much I contribute to my husband’s work, our livelihood and the operations of our family blended family. My husband has a
very demanding role and travels a ton for work. He has 4 older children from a previous marriage and we have a toddler of our own so there is a lot of moving parts and I don’t think we would be able to function as a family if I were working right now. Once my daughter is in school it will be a big help!
I think one of the major struggles for women are conflicting messages. For example, the CDC recommends breast feeding until a child is 12 months or older yet if you’re lucky 8-12 weeks is what is commonly max paid maternity leave. From what I have seen with many of my mom friends in multiples states, there is a shortage of daycares and childcare so that makes it difficult
for many women to go back to work too. The pressure on women is immense, especially with single moms. “The percentage of children growing up in single-parent homes has increased tremendously due to divorce, out of
wedlock births and unmarried cohabitation” (Wong, et al., 2021, p. 246). Research shows that 26% of children are raised by single parents (Wong, et al., 2021). I really appreciate your post and recognizing this potential bias within your role as a counselor. It is encouraging and inspiring when we see other (future) counselors self-reflect and acknowledge where bias may erupt.
It helps us take a look at our own biases and where we need to put in the work too. Thank you again for sharing!
Wong, D. W., Hall, K. R., Justice, C. A., & Hernandez, L. W. (2021).
Counseling
individuals through the lifespan
. SAGE Publications
