Accomodation

I have a woman friend who is negotiating the world of job hunting right along with me. She has a master's degree and has worked most recently as a school counselor in Wake County. She also has two young children. Instead of pursuing another counseling position, she has decided to take a less demanding role to be more available to her children as they enter the public school system. She recently interviewed for a teaching assistant position and was struck by the fact that this role would require her to hire a baby sitter to care for her son because her schedule would not coincide with his. My question is--would this really be so difficult for an employer? The role of teachers assistant is one that she would be great at and she is highly trained. It seems to me that it would be a wonderful position for many mothers with young, school aged children.

In my own situation, my husband works nights and I work days. We still have a period of time that is about 90 minutes long each day where there is an overlap in our schedules to accommodate commuting times. We hire a babysitter for this time. It strikes me that when I am interviewing for positions--it would make my life so much easier if I could move my start time up by one hour--then no babysitter would be needed at all. I dare not bring this up though, it isn't even considered part of the dialogue. I wonder why this is? I am sure that not having to rely on another person to show up at my house and care for my kids for that brief period would actually make me a better employee.

We need more women owned businesses and women in positions of power to make this part of the national consciousness. We already acknowledge that quality child care is out of reach for many families. Making work/life balance discussions and options for women--and men! Would seem to me to be a logical step in a happier, more productive paid labor force.