Women, Work, More: Working Mothers & the Pressures of Motherhood — with Amanda Watson

SFU Sociology and Anthropology Professor Amanda Watson, joins Alyha Bardi to speak about her recent book, 'The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in an Age of Anxiety.' Amanda speaks about our cultural fascination with the figure of the juggling mother, explores the ableism and racism behind this depiction, and scrutinizes the immense pressures of motherhood that are often ignored — from juggling work and home life, to breastfeeding, to acting unencumbered at work. Amanda also discusses depictions of mothers as the "gender neutral CEO" — and explores how misogyny, white liberal feminism, and gender socialization, have led us to accept these very ideas involving motherhood that do more harm than good. The episode ends with Amanda and four working mothers sharing some advice with working mothers, present and future. They speak to their visions for making work better serve parents, reshaping cultural ideas of motherhood to alleviate pressure, and placing greater value on the labour of mothers.