There is this expectation that, well, if you don't have a spouse and children to care for, then you can work just like a man. And there is this notion that perhaps single childless women are a new version of the ideal worker. But many single-childless people often feel as if that set of assumptions also places a burden on them.
If you aren’t married and don’t have kids, people at work might assume a lot of things: that you can stay late at the office, that you can’t possibly understand their stories about parenthood, that you just haven’t found the right partner (ugh). But those assumptions are often false. Single childless women have busy lives, close relationships with children like nieces or nephews — and many don’t want coupledom or motherhood.
We talk to two women who’ve been researching and writing about being a single childless professional. The writer Shani Silver shares her experience with the career pros and cons, and then Tracy Dumas, a professor at Ohio State University, gives research-backed advice for responding to bias and unrealistic expectations.
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