Liz ODonnell - Mogul, Mom, & Maid: The Balancing Act of the Modern Woman

First published by Bibliomotion, Inc.

33 Manchester Road

Brookline, MA 02446

Tel: 617-934-2427

www.bibliomotion.com

Copyright 2014 by Liz ODonnell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ODonnell, Liz.

Mogul, mom, & maid : the balancing act of the modern woman / Liz ODonnell.

pages cm

Summary: Mogul, Mom, & Maid takes an honest look at how women are balancing home life and career. Liz ODonnell goes beyond statistics and tells the stories of women all across America who are juggling careers, motherhood, marriage, and householdsProvided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-937134-73-0 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-937134-74-7 (ebook) ISBN 978-1-937134-75-4 (enhanced ebook)

1. Women employees. 2. Career development. 3. Motherhood. I. Title. II. Title: Mogul, mom and maid.

HD6053.O36 2013

331.40973dc23

2013028024

This is the perfect moment for this important book which advances the conversation about how to provide and care for yourself and your family, while living a happy and meaningful life. Could there be a more important topic? Liz ODonnell does a wonderful job combining the stories of real women, with helpful research, and specific action steps. Well done.

Jacki Zehner, CEO, Women Moving Millions and former partner and managing director, Goldman Sachs

In Mogul, Mom, & Maid, women breadwinners share their honest views on the challenges they face in reaching their true potential. While many of those challenges manifest at the conference table, they also manifest at the kitchen table. In giving voice to these women and the issues they face managing both work and home, ODonnell helps crack the code on whats holding women back and outlines practical steps to help women, their partners, and their employers redefine womens relationships with and access to power.

Gloria Feldt, co-founder of Take The Lead and author, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power

ODonnell gives us straight talk and a revealing inside look at an unsung and besieged heroine: the working woman. Drawing on scores of interviews, ODonnell is a perceptive guide to the challenges posed by husbands (when present), children, workplaces, and womens own hopes and doubts. Racing to keep pace with a relentless daily calendar and to-do list, the women you will meet here are gutsy pioneers who just might lead us toward a fairer society and a more sustainable balance between work and family.

Charles Derber, professor of sociology at Boston College, co-author, The New Feminized Majority: How Democrats Can Change America with Womens Values and Sociopathic Society: A Peoples Sociology of the United States

If you think youve read it all about having it all, you havent read Mogul, Mom, & Maid. Even as moguls debate about bringing home bacon and frying it up in the pan, through a deft mix of research, interviews, and her Hello Ladies unique voice, Liz ODonnell provides a refreshingly candid look at the actual bacon-making of a working mom (and maids) life.

Whitney Johnson, cofounder, Rose Park Advisors, author, Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream

Mogul, Mom, & Maid should have been written twenty-five years ago! We would have saved ourselves a collective wandering in the desert. A must-read for anyone looking for a more balanced life, no matter your sex!

Larry Weber, chairman & CEO, W2 Group, Inc.

Mogul, Mom, & Maid is unflinchingly honest about the challenges modern women face as they juggle professional and personal roles. ODonnell shares her own storiesas well as those from the hundred women she interviewed, many of them breadwinnersand does not pretend there are easy answers. Yet, with humor, she offers useful and practical advice for women and their employers. Lean in to this bookand share it with the women whose happiness matters to you.

Carol Frohlinger, co-founder, Negotiation Women, Inc., www.negotiatingwomen.com

Liz tells her own and other womens stories with passion, humor, respect and curiosity. She is a woman on a mission, so heres to Lizmom, mogul, maid, and missionary. Mission achieved. A book for every woman and man juggling home, marriage, family and career.

Dr. Anne Perschel, leadership and business psychologist, Germane Consulting, Co-founder, 3Plus International. Women-Worth-Knowing

With Mogul, Mom, & Maid, Liz O Donnell strikes an inspiring balance between being comprehensive and compassionate. She tells stories of real women like you and me, as well as other women we might not know, and does this with warmth, insight, and empathy. Liz ODonnell shares the many truths about what it really means to be a woman, a mom, a wife, and a manager. It also goes further to suggest ways that individually and together we can create new truths. Mogul, Mom, & Maid will help you see opportunities in the complexities of the big picture. Even better, it will inspire you to make meaningful changes right where you are.

CV Harquail, PhD, consultant, AuthenticOrganizations.com, management faculty, Stevens Institute of Technology

ODonnell goes beyond the statistics and takes a hard, first-hand look at how womens responsibilities at home are impeding their career advancementand how negotiation can change the game for women everywhere.

Victoria Pynchon, author, The Grownups ABCs of Conflict Resolution and Success as a Mediator for Dummies

First and foremost thank you to all of the women who opened up your lives and shared your stories with me. Thank you to Jean, Kim, and Jessica, for opening your living rooms to me, and to Kyle at Whole Foods who filled your kitchens with dessert. Thank you to Nancy and Oz for sharing your home with me and giving me a beautiful writing retreat. Thank you to Nancy C. for your counsel, Chrysula for introducing me to Whitney, and Whitney for introducing me to Bibliomotion.

Many thanks to Jill, Erika, Shevaun, and all of the staff, authors, and friends of Bibliomotion who have created more than a companytheyve created a dynamic community.

Thank you to my immediate and extended family members, my village in Dedham, my friends across the country, as well as across the blogosphere and Twittersphere, and at work. I am grateful for the support, encouragement, coaching, chocolate, champagne, and connections. I want to call you out by name but would hate to forget any of you. Never before have I asked so much of so many and I want to return all of the favorsthats how women work.

And finally, love and gratitude to Kevin, Joe, and Kate who always support me. You are the reason I love being a working mother.

While the roles of women at work and at home have been discussed and debated since the days of Rosie the Riveter, in the past few years weve heard and read more declarations about women who work outside the home than ever before. Is it the end of men? Are women the richer sex? Can we have it all or not? Should we be leaning in or opting out? And is motherhood really the most important job?

The headlines, and the statistics behind them, dont tell the whole story. The truth is, more and more women today are breadwinners, and these breadwinners are struggling. They are caught in a perfect storm of male-dominated culture at work, traditional social norms at home, and outdated schedules in the school system.