Motherhood is a full-time job, which makes having a job all the more difficult. Between figuring how to balance work and home life (which is hard enough without a child) and fighting off the guilt that comes with the territory of a working mom—it’s not easy.
That’s where “Working Moms Against Guilt” aims to help. It’s a blog and online community, based here in the Tri-State, that approaches motherhood at its heart.
“Working Moms Against Guilt serves as an outlet and resource for moms all over the world who battle guilt at the office, at family functions, in the minivan, on the playground…you name it,” explains Susan Wenner Jackson, co-founder of Working Moms Against Guilt. “We aim to help them win the battle and feel good, or, at least good enough, about them selves, their choices and their lives.”
Wenner Jackson started the blog with three others, Sara Bennett Wealer, Tela Durbin and Cara Reeves, back in November 2006. The inspiration for the blog all started when Wenner Jackson went back to work after her first child was born in 2006. “I found the transition to working motherhood to be pretty overwhelming,” she explains. “My saving grace was being able to share experiences and get support from some of my coworkers who also had young kids.”
Wenner Jackson and the other ladies just happened to be writers at an advertising agency in Cincinnati so they decided to turn their daily water cooler chats into a blog in order to get the conversation going about what it’s really like to be a working mom.
In the nearly 10 years since Working Moms Against Guilt was founded, they’ve been mentioned and highlighting on ABC News, the New York Times, Real Simple Magazine, CNN and others. “We’ve added more contributors to the mix to represent other perspectives and keep up with demand,” explains Wenner Jackson. “Today, WMAG has more than 20 regular contributors and guest writers publishing multiple new posts each week.”
Over the course of nine years, Working Moms Against Guilt has built up a lot of posts, but there are a few that stick out in Wenner Jackson’s mind. “I guess one of my personal top picks would be this post I wrote about integrating kids into your workplace,” she says. “I’m reflecting on my experience of having a family-friendly employer and workplace, and how it can actually be a good, healthy thing for families and work to mix—not just for moms, but for kids, employers and society as a whole.”
Wenner Jackson says that Working Moms Against Guilt will be doing more of streaming video and live conversations, including the book club they’ll be hosting on Oct. 15. “The author of 37 Seconds is joining me to discuss her new book and answer questions live from our community,” she says. “I look forward to doing more events like this!”
To learn more about Working Moms Against Guilt, click here. You can also check them out on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.