Women and Careers?

I posted a comment similar to this on a friend's blog the other day, and since then I've been thinking a lot about the issue and wanted to say more.

In the last week there has been a lot of talk about Sarah Palin and her qualifications for becoming the VP of the United States. One of the harshest criticisms brought against her is that her teenage daughter is pregnant, insinuating that because of her career she has been a negligent mother. There are also cocerns that if she is VP she won't have time for her family, namely her baby with down syndrome.

While I have personally made the choice to stay home full-time with my baby, I beleive that what a woman decideds about working outside of the home is a VERY personal choice. It a matter that is between her, God, and her family. No one else has the right to judge her decision. I beleive that having mothers in the home is VERY important and I belieive the words of modern prophets that state "Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of thier children." Yet I also beleive that God has different plans for us all, and he gives us different opportutnies in order to fulfil what he wants us to do on this earth.

We owe so much to mothers who balanced demanding public careers and offices with demanding family obligations. Without these mothers we wouldn't have the right to vote, public schools, mental health care, the Red Cross, unions, and numerous other social and political organziations that have improved and enriched the lives of American families. I beleive that there is a place for women, especially mothers, in the public sphere and that mothers have a responisbilty to be activly involved in shaping their communites and nations. Just because a woman works outside of the home doesn't mean that she will be a worse mother, or that she is neglecting her family responsibilities.

True, a woman can't have it all at once. When you choose to stay home you miss out on certain public and social expericnces, and likewise when you have a career you miss out on home and family experiences. The great irony of the sitation is, that women are critized for making either decison. Women who stay at home have defend their position just as much as women who have careers; and often times they feel guilty no matter which choice they make. That really bothers me! There isn't one right way to be a mother, and different things are right for different families.

I don't think it is fair to make judgements about Sarah Palin's decision to have a demanding public career. Just because it isn't what you or your family have chosen to do, doesn't mean that it isn't what is right for her and for her family. True, she and her family will have to sacrafice some things, but that decision is between them and God. It will be hard, and I think they need our support more than they need our critisim.