What Am I Worth as a Stay-at-Home Mom?
And is what I do considered work?
I am a stay-at-home mom. I am one of the 2.4 million women who left the labor force during the first year of the pandemic. That I should feel compelled to write about work may come as a surprise, given my current circumstances. Many would ask, myself included, is what I do considered work?
Although I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for almost two years, I’m not entirely comfortable with the title. Sometimes, I avoid eye contact when I tell people, fearing their judgment. My straight-shooting sister has said to me, “I don’t know how you can stay at home. I would get so bored. Like, I have a brain. I can’t read Clifford the Big Red Dog twenty times in a row.”
I often ask myself, “Am I stupid? Lazy? Not ambitious enough? Should I be doing more with my life? ” I imagine my friends who work full time, shouldering the emotional burden of managing their households and providing primary care for their children on top of navigating a pandemic that has made the balancing act more precarious. So many women juggle two balls while I seem only to be able to handle one. I know there’s a joke about the patriarchy in there somewhere.
From a global perspective, the UN confirms the following:
“Widespread closure of schools and childcare…
