Slammed?

Fifty years ago, class was signaled by displaying leisure time. Today?

We say, “I’m slammed.”

Long hours have become a privilege, a writ of passage into what Harvard Business Review blogger Joan C. Williams calls “the cult of busy smartness.”

“I am slammed,” otherwise known as a socially acceptable way to say “I am important,” represents commitment and elite status.

But, many women (even working mothers) don’t think it’s worth the tradeoff.

A study by Joni Hersch of Vanderbilt Law School found mothers graduating from top-tier universities, most likely to enter the fast track, are less likely to be working full time than less those with less prestigious degrees.

In fact, only 34.8 percent of MBAs have full-time jobs – stalling the number of women in top jobs at 14 percent, a figure that has been relatively stagnant over the past decade.

Why?

“Most moms have this one little hang up,” writes Williams, “they want to see their children awake,” which means the fast tracks leading to top jobs are excluding mothers.

Only 13 percent of college educated working mothers are willing to put in 50 hours a week during their key advancement years, reports the American Community Survey.

In order for companies to retain top-tier female talent, it seems they must also be prepared to play a role in one’s quest to “have it all.”

Bonus PINK Link: Three workplace flexibility myths debunked.

Why do you think highly educated women work less?
By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor at Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.

“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” Erma Bombeck