I am a #motherworking rather than #workingmother!

This recent post on BusinessInsider caught my eye – The famous IBM inventor Lisa DeLuca visited a technology conference with her daughter, and if you just visualized this with a nanny following her, you are totally mistaken. Take a closer look at her photo (above), dressed in formals and high heels she carried her baby proudly!

Image Credit - BusinessInsider

She claims herself to be a #motherworking not #workingmother.

In her recent message on Instagram with a picture of her daughter, she says – This is my everything. Even though I had a set back today, I’m a mom first, technologist second. A #motherworking not #workingmother.

Does it matter how you perceive yourself?

I have priorities. Maintaining my daughter is my first.  - Whitney Houston

We decide the priorities in our life and by tagging ourselves as working mothers; we are pushing “motherhood” to the back seat and taking on work as a priority? 

If it is important to you, you will find a way. If NOT you will find an excuse!

Just as Lisa De Luca did, she is passionate about work, but she set herself to be a mother first, and then she found a way to balance it!

However, that raises another important question -

Would You Take Your Baby To Work?

Many would simply say No, because of one simple reason – It is unprofessional and we as professionals are asked to separate our work and personal life! But, if we rephrase our question – Would you carry your baby to Work in case your nanny is out sick or day care has an off, and there is an urgent issue/meeting at work?  We are sure even that would not evoke a YES because somehow taking toddlers/infants to work is still TABOO!

• What would others think of it?
• It would be a nuisance at the workplace.
• It will have a bad effect on my reputation!

The Bigger Picture

Many organizations in the US are implementing "Infants at Work Policy," allowing new moms or dads to bring their infants to the office and care for them while on the job. 

When Marissa VanHoozer went back to work eight weeks after giving birth, her newborn son was right at her side.

Gavin slept in a bassinet on her office desk as she made phone calls, slumbered in a baby sling on her body as she typed on her computer or just watched the executive assistant in action at the Washington State Department of Health in Olympia.

Another success story from Zutano claims - Mothers who have the opportunity to work alongside their child can focus more on their job without worrying about the welfare of their little ones in daycare.

According to Carla Moquin, founder, and CEO of Babies in Business Solutions, 185 organizations have permitted more than 2,100 babies to come to work with parents across 43 states in the U.S., as well as in Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The programs are not on-site day care. Instead, parents perform their regular jobs while wearing, feeding, and watching over an infant

At the end it is the mindset of people that needs to change, children are an integral part of our life, and when they become a part of work life, results could improve drastically!

So, when are you taking your baby to work?