MICHAEL
STANAT
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What
is it like to be the son of a single businesswoman? Society
would have us believe that these hardworking women are undermining
the traditional, nuclear family. The argument put forth
is that women in the workplace – especially executives
who travel and bring work home, spend less time nurturing
their children. It asserts that the time spent at work weakens
children’s support systems and increases the risk
for juvenile delinquency. Society delivers a stern warning
to businesswomen—what is gained at work will be lost
at home.
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For eighteen years, I have lived as a son of a successful businesswoman.
As I reflect on my childhood before I enter college, I begin to
evaluate my observations and question many of the popular preconceptions
of living under a single workingwoman.
Perhaps one of the most telling attributes about businesswomen
is their ability to endure and overcome obstacles. Although women
who work outside the home spend more time away from the household
than those who do not work, they in fact strengthen their children’s
ability to withstand obstacles. After all, working women face not
only the financial and emotional burden of parenthood but also the
pressures of working. Obstacles that these women face are everywhere.
Working women confront the instances of employees complaining and
conniving behind their backs. My mother faced the tactics used by
business competitors who often underestimated her because she was
a short, blonde woman. However, the lack of physical intimidation
indeed works to their benefit, for what has made my mother and many
other women like her successful is not only their tenacity, but
also other peoples’ underestimation of them.
Business and professional women are often the scapegoats for increases
in juvenile delinquency. They however do not receive the credit
of being role models themselves. A study conducted by Cornell University
found that regardless of whether the mother is a single parent or
not, it is her education level, work ethic and income that matters.
The study found a strong correlation between a child’s academic
accomplishment and that of his mother. Businesswomen are often inherently
positive role models by virtue of their careers. The businesswoman
performs both at work and home: she goes to work to provide for
her family and encourages education and dedication to one’s
community. She provides her children with a strong emotional foundation
for the “real world.” Children thus receive both the
mother’s perspective as well as an overview from the business,
legal and medical worlds. In my own life, it was when I saw my mother
survive divorce, her children’s adolescences and economic
ups and downs that I realized I could survive on my own. The many
lessons taught by ambidextrous working mothers are things from which
many young people today can greatly benefit.
Innovation and creativity come naturally to the women who work.
To get where they desire and stay on top, women must think outside
the box. My mother was proud to point out that when she worked at
a large corporation in New York she hired a woman who had played
a major role in the development and popularization of a sticker
that would catalogue the products bought by customers. This sale
marker made for easy checkout at stores and was the precursor to
the barcode that has revolutionized retail markets. Clearly, children
growing up in these environments benefit from this added creativity.
In her career, my mother has been credited with innovating technologies
and concepts widely used in the business world, and I have inevitably
internalized the significance of being creative.
Indeed these businesswomen are competitive in the dog-eat-dog workplace.
Success does not come easy for them. They have to work twice or
three times as hard as their male and female counterparts. My observations
have shown me that these women will stay at work longer or take
work home to be able to one-up fellow co-workers. It is this work
ethic and competitiveness that dismantles preconceptions of women
and continues to shatter pieces off the glass ceiling. Virgil said
it best, “Fortune favors the bold,” and the competitive,
brazen and courageous workingwomen are the ones to reap fortune.
Businesswomen often have greater staying power at their positions,
allowing them to stay on top. Perhaps some would argue that women
stay on top longer because they statistically live longer than men
-- however, the answer probably lies in their tendency to be more
open and expressive. When difficulties abound, women have many outlets
for their pressures and make use of their support systems—my
mother certainly made use of hers! Also, because success is not
only defined by their occupations, workingwomen tend to be more
balanced and can rely on other interests, such as friends, family
and the arts.
What can be learned from my observations? First: women executives
and entrepreneurs are clearly dynamic characters in the lives of
their children. Not only are they successful career-wise but they
also take a significant role in the development of children, offering
them unique perspectives and experiences. They motivate their children
by their own personal drive and are thus important role models.
As a witness to many of these roles, I take a positive view of the
modern businesswoman. Although she is by no means perfect, she certainly
offers an interesting twist on life.
Michael Stanat is the author of China’s Generation
Y: Understanding the Future Leaders of the World’s Next Superpower
(Homa & Sekey Books). His commentary has been previously published
in the News Sentinel and featured in The Houston Chronicle, Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, The World Journal and The Journal News. Stanat
has also been featured on The Associated Press ASAP Newswire, Voice
of America’s “Talk to America,” and “The
Brian Lehrer Show” on WNYC (NPR affiliate). He currently attends
the United Nations International School in New York City, where
he is a senior and soon-to-be freshman at an Ivy League University
(who will be lucky to get him!). He can be reached at info@chinageny.com
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