Photo: Design Pics

According to recent Census Bureau numbers, more women are working later in their pregnancies than ever. Sixty-six percent of women who gave birth between 2006 and 2008 did so after working during their pregnancy versus 44 percent of women between 1961 and 1965. Moreover 82 percent of those pregnant women between 2006 and 2008 worked almost until they actually had the baby, a month or less. That figure was 35 percent between 1961 and 1965 and 73 percent between 1991 and 1995.

These statistics have repercussions for the babies that are born. A U.K. study finds that going to work at the eighth month is as bad as smoking. (!!) And a separate study found that women who work and spend a lot of time on their feet have smaller babies.

The Grindstone points to a couple of reasons for this trend: more women are working now than in the 1960s and many more are breadwinners for their families. We’ll add to that the fact that there are many more women who have businesses or careers that would be impacted by a lengthy maternity leave — promotions that will go to other people, missed developments at the company or in the industry while a new mom is at home with her baby. There are simply more women trying to do it all in order to have it all.

Of course this idea of “having it all” has been a big topic recently. We touched on ourselves: “Skill, perseverance, and ambition can be fulfilled,” we wrote. “You just may have to fulfill it by following your own unique path. It may take longer to get where you want in your career. Others may give you the side-eye for choosing family over that work conference. But in the end, it will all be worth it.” This new evidence that overdoing it can have medical repercussions for the baby is just one more incentive for taking your time and truly finding that balance.

“ …[I]f you’re realistic yet optimistic about your goals, you’ll do that in a manner that does allow you to have it all, because what ‘it all’ means is positioned in a framework that is attainable,”Laysha Ward, chair of the Executive Leadership Foundation, recently told The Root. Indeed.

Photo: Ron Chapple Studios

Marissa Mayer started her new job as CEO of Yahoo this week, the fifth person to hold the position in as many years. The news made headlines as the 37-year-old former Google exec is now one of the biggest players, man or woman, in technology specifically and corporate America in general. She’s got some big issues to handle in the new post. Advertisers have fled, the brand and its reputation is in shambles, and the internal state of the company is a mess.

But Mayer also made news this week for something completely separate: she announced that she’s six months pregnant and doesn’t plan to take a proper maternity leave. The decision reignited the question of how women can achieve a work-life balance.

The Atlantic recently published what has become the most-read story in the history of the publication, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” The author, Anne-Marie Slaughter, is a Princeton University academic, a writer and speaker, and was the first female director of policy planning at the State Department. This story has landed her a book deal. The basic premise of the article is this: Slaughter discovered that she couldn’t have a high-powered Washington D.C. job and still be the mother of two teenage sons in Princeton, N.J.

“I believe that we can ‘have it all at the same time,’” she writes. “But not today, not with the way America’s economy and society are currently structured. My experiences over the past three years have forced me to confront a number of uncomfortable facts that need to be widely acknowledged—and quickly changed.”

Among the facts: educated, professional women who are sharing child-rearing responsibilities with a partner who is also an educated professional have more options (and more money). Technology and the passage of time have helped, but traditional ideas about working life persist even as society changes. This makes it harder for women overall, and especially for those who don’t have the extra hands and income that would make “having it all” easier.

Slaughter praises the “discipline and sheer endurance” that moms/career women have always dug deep to find and put to use. But she also gushes about knowing what you want and working towards that. This may be the best piece of advice in her lengthy article. Skill, perseverance, and ambition can be fulfilled. You just may have to fulfill it by following your own unique path. It may take longer to get where you want in your career. Others may give you the side-eye for choosing family over that work conference. But in the end, it will all be worth it.

With so many modern women rising through the professional ranks, we will be having the “work-life balance” discussion for some time to come. But slowly, it looks like things are changing. After all, we now have lots of dads who share domestic responsibilities. And a major tech company with a list of problems decided it would be in their best interests to hire a woman who’s about three months from giving birth to steer them into a bright and lucrative future.

The connected nature of the world is blurring the line between our public and private personas. Does privacy even exist anymore? This phenomenon can be seen in how celebrities are viewed. The public balks when they withhold the slightest detail about themselves. But, with personal and professional lives feeding off one another like never before, it is important to keep some things sacred.

Raven-Symone, a child star of Cosby Show fame that has since retired to the Broadway stage, became the topic of discussion when she responded to rumors surrounding her sexuality that were first ignited by the National Enquirer. Sources told the tabloid that Symone was living with a female love interest in her New York City apartment.

Raven took to Twitter to respond saying,  “My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I’m dating’s to know. I’m not one for a public display of my life,” an odd choice of words for someone who makes a living in the limelight. She’s not the only star to remain aloof about her sexual orientation. Queen Latifah has repeatedly told publications that her personal life is personal and she wouldn’t speak on such rumors.

Many articles on Raven’s situation focused on whether she should fess up to the rumors either way. Even when dealing with matters not as intimate as sexuality, the public scoffs when a public figure is not forthcoming about their personal life. Beyoncé’s decision to hide her marriage and go without her wedding ring for months on end only stoked the media’s interest in her marital status.

For celebrities, work-life balance takes on heightened importance. Maintaining a boundary between their personal and public life is an attempt to keep some part of their lives personal and real, without being tainted by public opinion. The average person requires the same courtesy, if on a smaller scale.

(Madame Noire) – Savvy madames know that networking is a key tool in finding jobs, strengthening our professional ties and building our personal brands. Madames are intelligent, interesting and intriguing so working a room should come naturally if you just keep in mind a few key points.

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