YoungFeds.Org > Features > UnCommentary
Pregnant Pause
By Jessica Kidwell
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I could go into labor literally at any moment. As I tie up loose ends at the office in preparation for a “pregnant pause” in my career, I can't help wondering if its really possible for women to be rock stars at work and super stars at home? And if working in the Federal Government makes it any easier?
About half of the members of the YoungFeds 35<35 advisory board are women (impressive!). And as I look around my own agency, there are a lot of high performing women. But did you know that as the GS level climbs, the representation of women falls? At the lower end of the GS system, women are the majority of the job holders (in FY 2005, women held 68.5% of the GS 1-4 jobs). But during the same period they occupied only 26.5% of Senior Executive Service.
What happens? Where do the women go?
Nancy Pelosi, the highest ranking woman in Congress (and arguably one of the most powerful women in the world) has a theory. She often refers to the “marble ceiling” that faces women in government - not just glass, but marble! And why is it that in a recent interview, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was asked if her job makes it hard for her to date. No one ever asks the single guys in the Cabinet a question like that.
It's been almost 90 years since women began their active role in government by voting in the first national election . . .and I have to wonder: since then, have we gained much ground in becoming active participants in and employees of the Federal Government?
The answer is yes . . . and no.
The Federal Government could and should become the employer of choice for women. I want to have a meaningful, successful and fulfilling career while balancing a family. The Federal Government is poised to offer me both. There are many existing policies in place that--if more effectively utilized and more widely publicized--could attract and retain the best and brightest women. Alternative work schedules, part time options, and teleworking (just to name a few) could transform the workplace for women. I fear, however, that many agencies do not widely utilize these options nor tout them as recruiting tools. The policies exist but are dusty from non-use. Maybe this is the result of entrenched beliefs that a person in a chair equals productivity, or of fear that a mass exodus of employees would occur leaving the day-to-day operations swirling out of control. Whatever the reason, these beliefs and fears are a barrier to progress in the federal workplace.
The loyalty and job satisfaction of many very smart and high- performing women would likely be stronger if they felt that their value as an employee was not just about the 40 hours a week they spend in the office, but the work they produce and the value they add. Women would be leading the “Federal Government: Employer of Choice” parade if they didn't feel like they could only advance “so far.”
When faced with the uncertainty of how to balance career aspirations with a new family, many women may use their pregnant pause to leave their careers behind or at least on idle. Excellence in government will come from valuing everyone's contributions and the barriers that prevent everyone from reaching their full potential. That includes the family pressures that many women face.
Bottom line: We cannot value women in the workplace only to the extent that they are able to act just like the guys.
Jessica Kidwell is a staff assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She is a member of the YoungFeds 35<35 Advisory Board. Her daughter Grace was born shortly after she wrote the article.
