Women's History Month: The unseen jobs of a working mom

As part of our Women's History Month recognition, female professionals at Bell Techlogix are sharing their stories and insights about career, family, and life. Meet Heaven Smith, Security Analyst at Bell Techlogix.

As a child, I always knew I wanted to be a mom, and thought I wanted to stay home and have a perfect house that never needs dusting or dishes washed, laundry done or has water leaks or electrical issues. Since all the movies make that look too easy to manage alone, I also wanted a full-time "big girl" job that I can talk about - for my social standing. I would live in my town of Dr. Seuss-like characters, in my perfect neighborhood - where neighbors still come over for tea and gossip on Saturday mornings.

Now, as an adult who has lived it, and knows better, I understand that being a stay-home mom, housewife and successful security analyst is like having 10 tiny full-time jobs that ONLY YOU can see as being a "job" and one extra job that society sees as an actual good use of your time.

Being a hard-working competitor in a market full of excellent engineers, is one of the hardest things I've ever pushed myself to do. I've cried, doubted myself, and struggled. I’ve also learned so much about myself, gained confidence, improved my job skills, and had supportive co-workers cheering me on.

Society is naturally harder on women, and it may be because of an unknown bias ingrained within us, or because women didn't have a voice for so long. Thank goodness it is 2024 and we have come a long way...with more miles to go.

Women making history, taking a stand, making a difference .. this is what we need. Like in the Dr. Suess book, "Horton Hears A Who," women need to band together and make noise like never before by highlighting our peers, celebrating our accomplishments, and recognizing the natural leadership and organizational skills we bring to the table. We are better together.

Read nore insights from our female leaders at Bell Techlogix on our Women's History Month page.