by Farrah Tahar

Created on: July 06, 2008

I am a working woman, who will be a mother in three months. My mother was a stay-at-home mum who quit her job to look after me my entire childhood as well as my two younger brothers when they came along. By virtue of the fact that my "non-working" mum raised a working mother, I'd have to say that I don't necessarily agree with the fact that working mothers will raise working daughters.

While I do agree that daughters who see their mothers being able to juggle both a career and home life may be inspired to continue in that lifestyle and have the best of both worlds, it is not the primary reason that their daughters may choose to work. The personal ambitions of each individual woman, the support they receive from their families, spouses and children as well as the economic circumstances surrounding their lives all have a part to play in their decision to work or to stay at home.

My maternal grandmother was a career woman. Ultimately, her daughter, my mother, chose to stay at home to raise my siblings and I. Her decision was influenced by the fact that my grandmother was consumed with her career and so was never around for her and her sisters. This eventually did lead to a breakdown in the family and my grandparents' divorce. My mother made a decision to avoid history repeating itself at all costs, and was lucky enough that my father made enough money for the family to be comfortable on a single income.

My mother's sisters are working. One of them is a mother, while the other has decided not to have children. The working mother has said that she would choose to stay home with her kids if her economic circumstance allowed. However, she makes sacrifices in her career, putting her family ahead of work whenever necessary and has seen a number of opportunities to further herself in her career go by.

I do know women who juggle work and family by choice because they have seen their mothers do it. They refuse to be trapped into the old-fashioned template of women who stay at home, tend to the children and cook in the kitchen.

I repeat my point that I do not believe that working mothers will necessarily raise working daughters. Yes, the fact that their mothers worked would have some influence on the mindset of some women when determining whether they would choose to be career or family centered. But again, it is not the only factor. Family support, economic circumstances and her individual set of priorities would all factor in a woman's decision to work or not.

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