Did you know:

• 42% of women report feeling burnout from balancing work and home responsibilities (McKinsey)
• Women spend 2.8 times more hours on unpaid care and domestic work than men (UN Women)

Two Full-Time Jobs: My Personal Experience

I'll admit I hate housework with deep passion, and part of the reason is that it's a full-time job in itself. When I had kids, I tried to do it all myself. Big mistake. It went very, very badly for me, to the point that I ended up in hospital on a drip, exhausted, just thinking, "Oh, my God, I can't do another day."

What troubles me is why so many successful women still feel pressured to do it all. 

I had a client who would, before she went on a business trip, go home and cook enough food to fill her fridge for her husband and their two adult sons, because that was what she thought her job was as a woman. One of my clients works long hours earning millions and still rushes back home to do the ironing. 

The Global Impact of Women's Unpaid Work

• Globally, women undertake three times more care and domestic work than men (ILO) 
• 12.5 billion hours, every day, are spent on unpaid care work by women (Oxfam) 
• If we paid every women minimum wage for this unpaid work, this would represent a contribution to the global economy of at least $10.8 trillion a year - more than three times the size of the global tech industry 

The modern workplace wasn't designed for women's realities. It's set up for women to go to work from nine to five, and then to home from five to nine. Any woman that lives today can't do that; it's impossible. You've got to run your home from work. You've got to run your work from home, because that's how we live.

What Do Businesses Owe Working Mothers?

So, what do working women owe their families? Certainly not burnout and exhaustion. Certainly not a magic quick-fix that lets us 'do it all'. 

We're asking the wrong question. Instead, let's ask what we, as businesses, owe working mothers. 

Four Essential Policies for Supporting Working Women

Here's what we need:

1. Flexible work arrangements: Because sometimes you need to be at your kid's school play and in a board meeting on the same day.
2. On-site childcare or subsidies: Because worrying about your kids while you're trying to close a deal is just nuts.
3. Mentorship programs: Because we need to lift each other up, not suffer in silence. 
4. Leadership development: Because we deserve to be in the C-suite. 

The Win-Win Scenario: Supporting Women Benefits Everyone

You know what happens when we implement these policies? Everyone wins. Companies see higher profits, and women aren't forced by circumstance out of their careers (as is the case for up to 30% of women, according to Forbes). 

And here's the kicker - when we support women in the workplace, the global economy benefits. McKinsey puts this figure at $28 trillion. 

Building Better Workplaces

It's time to build workplaces that truly support us. We deserve more than just keeping our heads above water. Let's aim higher - not just for ourselves, but for all the women around us. 

If you want to be a part of our movement, reach out to join WCorp's ambassador program. Or if you want to attract incredible talent, boost profitability, and increase your innovation revenue by 15%, head to our website and apply for certification. Let's change modern history.

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