Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s CEO, Does She Have It All?

Define have it all … that would be my first question.  To “have it all” is relative. My all is not your all, nor is it anyone else’s.  But the big question in America today is does Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer have it all.  As a Chief Executive Officer of a major corporation many people would argue she already has it all.  The career, the paycheck the experience; but wait, there’s more, she’s happily married.  And guess what else, expecting her first child in October.  The big controversy in my opinion is she stated “My maternity leave will be a few weeks long and I’ll work throughout it.”
I find this incredibly amusing because as a first time pregnant employee, I too thought that I wouldn’t want to nor could possibly take the time off and just hang out with an infant.  After I had my baby I realized how wrong I was and spent the next 16 weeks happily ignoring the fact that I even had a job and cried the night before I started back part time!  I would argue that this woman was given biggest break in her career months before she was due with her first child so what else is she supposed to say?  “Yeah sure I’ll take the job but I’ll be gone from October through Christmas?”  A man would never say that, he would take a few days, maybe a week but he would never be gone from his job, much less his new position as a CEO for any length of time.  So does Marrissa Mayer have it all?  A friend of mine pointed out to me recently that we can work and be mothers, but we can’t do either one well.  I think to a certain degree she was right.  Can I be a mother and have a full time job? Of course I can, I’m doing it right now.  Can I be the best mother I can be and be the best employee I can be?  No, I know now after having my child that I can’t.  Something will have to give, and I gaurantee you, it will be my job.  I won’t quite or neglect my duties, but if I have to choose between my child and my job, my child will win every single time.  But I have made that decision and I know which of the two are more important.  I worry for the women who do try to do it all and think that they can be everything to everyone.  You can’t stop trying!  Acknowledge the fact that being a mother is a full time job in itself and if you also manage to handle a full time job good for you.  But we can’t be everything, the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the model employee, the housekeeper and the sex kitten.  We just can’t.
I personally have chosen to be a fabulous wife 🙂 An excellent mother 🙂 and a decent employee.

Pick a few things, do them well, and at the end of the day I promise you will be happier than Yahoo’s CEO who will be skyping to meetings while her nanny raises her child.