Women often face a difficult choice once they decide to have children and their maternity leave is coming to a close. Do I stay at home with my kids or do I go back to work? In the book, Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society, Lamanna, Reidmann, and Stewart (2015) wrote in “2011 there were about 5 million stay-at-home mothers. That number represents 23% of married-couple families with children under 15” (p. 256). An article from the New York Times looks at some of the racial differences that white and black mothers face. For some women the choice is already made for them. Financially they need to help provide for their families, while others are fortunate enough to be able to stay at home. Ultimately,
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Family, Complicated by Race, by Lynette Clementon, (2006) she writes about the discussion she had with several successful black women and their thoughts on the work-life debate for women with careers. Each woman read excerpts from books and articles that asked the deep seeded question of whether to be a stay-at-home mom or to continue working. Robin Rucker Galliard, a lawyer and mother of two, said “they don’t speak to my reality. We don’t generally have the time or luxury for the guilt or competition that some white mothers engage in.” It appears that these particular resources where more geared towards white mothers. Clementon (2006) goes on to say “it is not that black mothers do not wrestle with some of the same considerations as white mothers, but, the discussions as portrayed in the books and news media often lack the nuances and complexities particular to their experience.” Many of the professional black women at this gathering envision having financial security and stability for their families along with having the ability to help out others in their family. Pamela Walker, a college professor with six children, said “my family can afford expensive things, but why would I think about spending hundreds of dollars on a stroller when I can help a cousin buy textbooks for college? That is not my world.” It sounds as if Mrs. Walker is implying that white mothers tend to spend their money on materialistic items whereas black women do not find the need
Family, Complicated by Race, by Lynette Clementon, (2006) she writes about the discussion she had with several successful black women and their thoughts on the work-life debate for women with careers. Each woman read excerpts from books and articles that asked the deep seeded question of whether to be a stay-at-home mom or to continue working. Robin Rucker Galliard, a lawyer and mother of two, said “they don’t speak to my reality. We don’t generally have the time or luxury for the guilt or competition that some white mothers engage in.” It appears that these particular resources where more geared towards white mothers. Clementon (2006) goes on to say “it is not that black mothers do not wrestle with some of the same considerations as white mothers, but, the discussions as portrayed in the books and news media often lack the nuances and complexities particular to their experience.” Many of the professional black women at this gathering envision having financial security and stability for their families along with having the ability to help out others in their family. Pamela Walker, a college professor with six children, said “my family can afford expensive things, but why would I think about spending hundreds of dollars on a stroller when I can help a cousin buy textbooks for college? That is not my world.” It sounds as if Mrs. Walker is implying that white mothers tend to spend their money on materialistic items whereas black women do not find the need