Women and Men are Equally Different

Go back to a simpler time, say, during cavepeople time. I’m not an anthropologist, so I’m expressing my general knowledge in this article. Cavewomen and men had roles to ensure the survival of their
species.

Cavewomen had to be aware of multiple things to keep their children safe from the many natural dangers around them. They were left at the home front to find solutions to maintain the health of their children, to keep them warm, fed, and educated about survival. They also planned for future events.

Cavemen, able to intimidate with their size and strength, were built to protect and to be singularly focused when hunting. If they didn’t focus their attention during a hunt or a battle, they’d lose and
usually more than just their ego.

Even though we’ve evolved (or at least most of us), our natural core really hasn’t. Somewhere along the way it became popular opinion that women were “weaker” than men, not “different.” I have no idea why that thinking has been slow to evolve. Of course I’m speaking generally, recognizing this thought process is still considered true, just look at the statistics of women being paid less than men for the same job, as if women were less valuable.

Good employers recognize differences in men and women, not as a positive or a negative, but a fact. Women and men will never be the same, it’s biologically impossible. But, they can do the same job and have equal success. Might they take different approaches? Yep, but so would two people, for the fact that they are separate people with separate brains.

So the inherent skills of a woman are still intact from the days of the caves. Moms today, still use their ancient skills by being aware of their surroundings, connecting to the unspoken emotions of those around them, and projecting the feeling that things will be taken care of, even if a rock slide is heading their way.

Mommi-Tasking - Moms Can Do Five Things at Once

Multi-tasking is an art form. It's the skill that allows someone to do multiple things at once, prioritize them and keep it all straight in their head. And moms are incredible at it.

Can you imagine if moms were single-taskers? "I'm sorry, Tyler, I can't help you with your homework until dinner is made. And I can't start making dinner because I need to answer a text message in regards to your sister's dance rehearsal tonight. Oh wait, I can't help with homework until after I've picked up my blouses for work from the dry cleaners."

Shift the above scenario to real life and my story goes like this, I'd make dinner while helping my son with his homework, text about dance and do laundry between spelling words. I'd pick up the dry cleaning on my way to get my daughter from rehearsal and bring my son along in case he still needed my help with his homework.This doesn't include the do list I'm sorting through in my head that covers the things that need to be taken care of for the next few days.

Yes, I have a week-long dry erase calendar on the fridge with event reminders and a calendar on my phone that I constantly update. I do trust that my kids will take care of their to-do lists written in their school agendas without my help, but pilots know how to fly their plane, yet without the air traffic controllers the planes would end up in a very different place than intended, and possibly on fire.

Moms also find a way to get back on task quickly after interruptions. "Mom, I need... Mom, where is... Mom, can I have...?  Getting from A to B often requires jumping over C, chasing around D, and finding E doing something they shouldn't be doing, all before getting to B. In fact, a work environment is a far quieter place to stay focused than a home environment.

I fit very well in a work environment that is fast-paced and requires me to handle multiple projects at once. I do it every day at home and at work. I'd be bored if I were only given one task. It'd be like driving a Ferrari and keeping it in second gear. Moms are used to having responsibilities and high expectations placed on them. They can apply their multi-tasking skill set to a job easily, after-all they take mommi-tasking very serious since it is used to keep their kids safe, healthy, and on the right track.

Moms are Master Noise Filters

Noise isn't just what we hear, it's what we see, smell, touch; it's even the energy waves we feel from people around us. Add technology on top of all that and we have noise from social media, music, news, videos, email, and texts. It is a wonder that we ever find quiet or know what to do with it when it's there.

If anyone understands noise, it's moms. But moms learn how to filter noise and address the greatest needs first. They sift and sort through data in a split second and frequently have to make decisions that quickly too. Moms are built to listen, really listen, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hear the unspoken words of a baby or the underlying angst of a teenager.

So how does this noise filtering skill translate to the workplace? Speaking as a mom, I have more tolerance of noise than I did before motherhood, in other words, noise doesn't stress me out as much as it used to. I know when to listen, when to forward an email to my boss, when to put on my headphones to drown out conversations, and what my top priority is: the text I get from my kids when they get home from school.

I've also learned that the loudest voice doesn't always deserve the most attention. I can't say how many times I've wanted to have my own type of tantrum when my teenage kids are pushing each other's buttons and yelling at a decibel that makes the cats hide. Instead, I ask for them to listen to each other and if anything, agree to disagree. A mom's voice of reason is sometimes all a situation needs to put things in perspective.

I also think moms understand how important it is to escape the noise at times, in order to recharge. If they didn't they might over-pluck their eyebrows and look surprised for a month. When life gets too loud, I take time to remember when I was a teenager and walked alone in a pasture for over a mile to find my horse. As I walked, I listened to the birds and the sound of the wind. There weren't any voices or traffic sounds, and I wasn't glued to a phone walking with my head down (mostly because they didn't exist at the time.) I noticed the apples in the trees, and as I got closer, I could hear horses blowing dust from their noses and stomping flies off their legs. It was peaceful and I was able to do something so important during that time--breath.

So whether it be in the work place or at home, a mom's ability to hear noise, ignore noise and be grateful for noise makes them invaluable to any team.

What Moms Returning to the Workplace Have to Offer

I know many moms that choose to stay home during the early stages of their children’s lives. Many of them were professional women first, and moms second. I made that decision when my children were starting elementary school. I wanted to be there when my kids were learning how to feel secure in multiple environments; home, school, camps, sporting endeavors, friend’s houses, etc. I will never regret the choice I made to be home with my most precious assets. 

Now that my children are in middle school and high school I’ve returned to the workforce. It has been an eye-opening experience. There is a six-year block of time that my professional development came to a screeching halt and employers recognize this. I’m now competing with younger, more flexible and focused people for jobs.

I was making a high salary, and moving up in the company I was in when I decided to scale down and be at home, again a decision I don’t regret. I had 14 years of professional experience in Marketing, PR, and Graphic Design under my belt. And the longer I was in a position the more diverse my skills became. 

Fast forward ten years, the changes in technology and marketing are great. Although I freelanced to keep at least my Graphic Design skills fresh and I was active with social media, I now compete with 20-something candidates that will accept a lower wage and have few commitments outside of their own lives. The fact of the matter is, the skills I do have are valuable, and being a mother has added to that value.

Mothers learn the following to be successful:

• Multi-tasking
• Time Management
• Negotiation
• Communication
• Event Planning
• Psychology
• Teaching
• Coaching
• First Aid
• Networking
• Social Media
• Sleep Deprivation
• Tolerance
• Short-order Cooking
• Teamwork
• Budgeting
• Flexibility
• And so much more...

So when asked, why I am qualified to take on a Marketing, Graphic Design, and Public Relations position, I shouldn’t hand them my old resume from my time in a corporate environment, I should hand them my mom resume which would certainly say, I can do just about anything handed to me.