Glass Ceiling In Your Way? Blame the Nanny

Australian businesswomen are attempting to blame their lack of climb up the success ladder on a lack of nannies. Wait, what?!

Okay. I get their anger with the business world. For starters, there is only 16.4 percent women on Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 100 boards and only 68 boards with women on the ASX 200 list. That sucks.

But what I don’t get is their immediate blame on childcare and the expenses of having a nanny. Shouldn’t they be angered with the sexism in the business world that forces them to have to put their careers in jeopardy if they want children? Shouldn’t they blame the men on the boards who are too scared to let some estrogen in the room? They definitely should, but they aren’t.

Some believe that Australia’s large emphasis on childcare could be to blame, making the mother responsible for personalized childcare, not just throwing the kids into an automatic daycare. But why must it be the mother’s problem? Couldn’t the father step in and help her figure it out? Should the government lend a hand and help women climb the career ladder, worry-free? Of course these are all possibilities, but will they happen? Who knows.

Hiring  a nanny may be the only option, and there may be a way for the government to help out with the costs if needed. ”We need to recognize, though, that access to childcare options, including nannies, is just one part of a complex picture when it comes to boosting women’s workforce participation and ensuring their representation at the highest levels,” says Kate Ellis, federal Minister for Employment Participation and Child Care. Sure, but, allow me to be a broken record here, why must mommy dearest deal with it on her own?!

I could go on angrily for hours here, discussing the inequality. Women have always been seen as the caregivers and primary parents, not career women with dreams, after the kids are born. Someday, we will have a proper solution to this ordeal. Until then, women will just have to go the nanny route and deal with the setbacks to their careers as they come.

Contact the author here: crazycolleen@morningquickie.com