Mom Who Works: The Tools to Redefine What It Means to be a Working Mom

by Jenna Worthen

Motherhood and careerhood work together for you in this self-love manifesto for every working mom. Face it. Being a mom is a full-time job. Yet over and over, women feel the need to separate motherhood and careerhood. Where fathers who put family first are celebrated in the workplace, women choosing a family and a career often comes with increased mom guilt, slower professional success, and unfair workplace discrimination. Mom, balancing both doesn’t have to leave you overwhelmed while fighting the impossible expectation to “do it all”—whatever that is. Take control and define what it means for you to have it all. In Mom Who Works , Jenna Worthen sounds an anthem to redefine what it means to be a working mom in a world without “working dads.” Full of valuable wisdom and personal-growth tools from moms like you, this guide will empower you to lose the label, ditch expectations, and confidently navigate pregnancy, baby, and beyond as a working woman. You’ll discover: You don’t have to do it all—but you can have it all, when you define your “all.” Start your journey to become, remain, and flourish as a Mom Who Works .

Genres: Self Help, Parenting, Nonfiction

206 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2022

About the author

Jenna Worthen is the author of Mom Who Works and founder and chief curator for an online, global organization of the same name. Exhausted by the label "working mom" and all the things that come with it—unnecessary bias, mom guilt, lesser pay and career mobility, and more—Worthen sought a new identifier for women who work. Thus, the phrase "mom who works" was born.

The Mom Who Works community serves more than 2,500 women who want to redefine what it means to be a working mom in a world without working dads. Focused on the intersection of motherhood and careerhood, Mom Who Works hosts in-person events, digital retreats, and weekly engagement and discussion with more than 2500 women through its platforms on Instagram, Facebook, and email.

Worthen is a mom who works as CEO and Founder of James Martin Company, helping candidates and nonprofits create and implement intentional development strategies. She has served as Chief Storyteller for an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit and was a co-founder of the 111Project, a nonprofit which serves children and families in foster care.

Worthen earned her master’s in political management from The George Washington University and her undergraduate degree in politics and law from Southern Nazarene University. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three children—Bobby, Jake, and June—and a dog named Nicey, who rescued them. Learn more at www.momwhoworks.com.

Reviews

[Tracie Barone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and Relatable

Any mom should read this. Any dad who wants to know what their child's mother does should read this. Anyone pregnant or ready to become a parent should read this. I enjoyed the different perspectives and situations moms who work went out through. I found it reassuring that I have had similar thoughts and experiences. A quick read and numerous varying viewpoints.

[Midlife Moxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Help for Moms

I am so glad to have read this book. As a Mom who works I feel left out of the world. I am grateful to ready the stories of others who are like me, a Mom who is trying to find the balance with work and kids. I liked the organization tips at the end to help find the balance. An easy read for a busy life.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic validation for all the various Moms out there.

[Shannon Vogel Lien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you GoodReads for my copy!! What a great reminder we can be Moms have have lives outside the walls of our homes. And that’s okay!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful addition to any shelf. You never hear the term working dads, it's a wonderful shift in the framing.