Episode 98: Leaning Back
/“The majority of women want to capitalize on their educations, want to do something meaningful and interesting and lucrative, but they’re not willing to sell their soul for their professional life.”
Kathryn Sollmann
A lot of women dream of scaling back their careers after they have kids, even if it's just for a while. Some quit altogether and stay out of the workforce for years.
These days the conversation around women and work revolves around how to get to the top. But my guest says much of it is missing the point: most women still have no desire to attain those heights.
In this episode I talk to Kathryn Sollmann of 9 Lives for Women about the pros and cons of dialing back your work life. Kathryn says one vital point often gets left out of the 'leaning out' discussions: the importance of long-term financial security.
You can also read a transcript of the show.
Further reading: Here's that Atlantic series on women's ambitions that I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast.
I'd love to hear from people about whether you've scaled back your career in some way over the years. Did you ask for flexibility and did it work? Did you leave to start a business you could manage around family life?