In The Shriver Report (yes, the first lady of California), Susan J. Douglas, co-author of The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women, argues that the media offers a profoundly distorted view of the lives of working women. She contends that the media presents working mothers in glamorous, high-powered jobs that few actually achieve and generally denigrating feminism in ways that do working mothers a disservice.

If we want to keep the momentum on working mother issues moving forward, we need to find a voice and a presence in the mainstream media. As Douglas points out, we need the Roseanne Barrs — the women who work and face daily struggles — to be represented is various mediums. The media may find out that the market for real working women is greater than they think.

The Shriver Report also states that its findings should not be surprising to working men and women. Today, four in five families with children still at home do not fit the mold of the traditional “male breadwinner and female homemaker” stereotype. In fact, many women are increasingly becoming their family’s breadwinner or co-breadwinner (see Figures 1 and 2). And the economic downturn is only amplifying and accelerating this trend. Many men have lost their jobs since the “Great Recession” began in December 2007, leaving millions of wives to “bring home the bacon” while their husbands search for work. 

The trend of women working outside the home, however, does not seem to be a short-term blip. This is a long-term trend that shows no signs of reversing.