While maintaining one’s personal and professional life has always been challenging, it has proved to be even more difficult while living through a pandemic. COVID-19 has revealed many pre-existing disparities in some workplaces, with research showing that women are disproportionally affected. Erin Hunter, Ph.D., director of the University Center for the Child and Family (UCCF) at MARI, provided her insight on the challenges that working mothers face in an interview with WXYZ, Channel 7 Detroit.
Local Mothers Talk Managing Work-Life Balance
Oftentimes, the women in our communities wear a lot of hats to suit different roles. For the working mothers in metro Detroit, juggling the commitments of their work lives and the responsibilities of being a parent has been overwhelming. Maintaining an ideal “work-life” or “work-home” balance is far from easy, and many moms have still found a way to make it work, even if that meant relying on family or working in unconventional ways.
Dr. Hunter, who herself is a working mother of two kids, shared her thoughts on the obstacles that women face.
“I do think that our society has been changing, especially over like the last 10 years or so. But where we still currently are is that these roles fall much more on women,” Dr. Hunter said. While it depends on each family’s dynamic, Hunter noted that many of these challenges and expectations can also fall on fathers or men that play an important role in childcare and home-life.
Since many parents are navigating this period of transition, it is important for companies to consider how they can make re-entering the workplace easier for moms.
To read more, visit: ‘Women in the Workplace: Local mothers talk work-life balance‘ on ABC’s WXYZ Detroit.
Dr. Hunter is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in a variety of evidence-based psychotherapies for children, adolescents, and families, including parent management training, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and acceptance and mindfulness treatments. She received a Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Washington, completed an internship at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and came to Michigan for a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical child psychology at UCCF. She became interim director of UCCF in 2020.
About the University Center for the Child and Family (UCCF)
The University Center for the Child and Family (UCCF) is committed to helping children and families enjoy a happier life, more satisfying relationships, and increased success. UCCF is part of the Mary A. Rackham Institute (MARI) at the University of Michigan. MARI provides high-quality, individualized mental health, neuropsychological testing, and language and literacy services to the community through its service centers, including UCCF, University Center for Language and Learning (UCLL), and University Psychological Clinic.