Having recently found myself doom scrolling LinkedIn after a sudden departure from my previous job; it got me thinking, 'Why does having a successful role determine so much of my worth?'
And, if my instagram post about the issue is anything to go by, it would seem I'm not alone.
I'm a 43-year-old mother of three. I have a loving family, brilliant husband, incredible mates, a pretty cracking social life, three epic kids and I founded and host a hugely successful night for women called PIZZUP in my 'spare time'. There is so much more to me than a job. She says. And yet, SO much of my worth is wrapped up in having a successful career.
With the conundrum fresh in my mind, I did what I do best and shared it amongst the Instagram masses, and important to note - women. I posted about my thoughts on work n worth via my stories and within minutes my DMs were flooded with feelings and stories of solidarity. So much so, I decided to make it a permanent post on my feed so we could really let loose in the comments.
Amongst the hundreds of 'and me' comments there was an overwhelming theme to the conversation. That our careers seem to be such a defining character trait, and so much of this stems from formative conversations. 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' still very much a socially acceptable question to our little ones. Attaching our self-worth to work appears to be incredibly common for my generation - the children of boomers who lived through a huge economic boom, when money meant success.
However, success - as so many women in the comments expressed - is also about creating an inclusive environment that recognizes and supports diverse choices, whether that's in career paths or family responsibilities.
Sadly, I'm not here to offer the solution, I'm just trying to unpick the deeply rooted societal stereotypes that perpetuate the notion of a woman's worth being tied to her job, and it's a bit of a heavy one.
One comment that I'm taking with me though, from the brilliantly insightful Suzy Reading: '"So what do you do?" pops up in the first few minutes of most new intros. No wonder we feel the need to have an impressive response. Here’s to a conversation about new ways of defining ourselves, representing ourselves and finding meaning beyond our job description.'