Mothers Day ... make that "Working Mothers Day"

About two years ago I ran into an EMC woman, Natalie Corridan-Gregg, in the hallway. She recently had a baby. We shared a quick story about motherhood and working, and then went our separate, EMC-fast-paced, ways.

A few days later I received the most beautiful, goose-bump-type story from "new mom" Natalie via email. It was about her baby. I shared a story back. Then a light bulb hit us.  "I bet there are other moms at EMC with similar stories.  We should put them in a book! Imagine what a different side of EMC, and the world of working women,  it would show."

And thus it began.

 

Today, we, the Women of EMC, give birth to a new baby: The Working Mother Experience.

In it, you'll find our stories of Work, Motherhood, Parenting, and "Bringing It" every day in tandem with the values, culture, execution-expectations, and intellectual exhilaration that is "us," and that is, "EMC."

It is written by about 100 women EMCers, and one, single-working, EMC dad. The stories come from 15 different countries.  Bulgaria, Spain, India, Ireland, Israel, and the United States among them. It is a glossy, 250-page, weighty-book-of-substance, filled with passion, heart and amazing insights.

The book is an unexpected "page-turner," even for me.  Wisdom, wit and tolerance comes from wonderful places, like the voices of 5-year olds and 13-year olds.  It is like "Reality TV," complete with infuriating moments, for family life at the dawn of the 21st Century. How are we really coping? What are our days really like?

I don't think you've ever read anything quite like it.  Some people comment on the "humanity" and "honesty" of it. Others on the "love" and "beauty."  I'd love to know what your comment would be.

Here are two samples:

Joanna Pelc

Commercial Channel Manager, Poland

Mother of one: one youth

Excerpt from Joanna's essay (p. 138):

“Sometimes stress eats me up, but I try to forget about it when I am spending time with daughter. I remember that some time ago I found that, because of stress caused by work, I was irritable with my daughter. One day I told myself: “This is enough, what are you doing?” I learned to control it and now, after stepping into my home, I stop thinking about work—or at least I try.”

Why she wanted to contribute her story to the book:

Participation in the project and the chance to tell my story was very important to me. I want to show how difficult it is to deal with all the duties at work and at home if you raise a child as a single mother. It takes me a lot of time to control my daily agenda and tasks so that I can help my daughter grow up to be brave, wise, and joyful. I wanted to show that women are very strong and, contrary to what one might expect, we can deal with many difficult situations. While these have a price, you should not let these difficulties at work or at home get in the way of the most important things in your life.

Toby Zeldin Yaakov

Senior Technical Writer,  RSA Security, Israel

Mother of two: two youths

Excerpt from Toby’s essay (p. 104):

“Does any woman actually dream of being a working mother? It’s a 24/7 smorgasbord of personal and work challenges all rolled into one. And for me, the icing on the cake is that I’m a working mother in the Middle East. I could never have imagined the swirled topping of ups, downs, and inside-outs of this working-mother’s life I lead: I’m a city girl from Toronto living in a far-away, out-of-the-way Yemen-Israeli community named Moshav Tnuvot, a former screenwriter now writing API documentation, employed by a U.S. corporation and working in the Israeli high-tech industry, and the English-speaking mother of two girls who speak Hebrew.”

Why she wanted to contribute her story to the book:

I think it's important to participate in projects in which employees are involved in activities outside of their usual work routines. A project such as this is especially interesting in a large, global company like EMC because you are exposed to the perspectives of people from around the world. I have a particular interest in projects about working mothers—because I am one!

I'll share more about it on this blog. I also encourage you to get more of a flavor and excerpts from the book, by visiting the blog Natalie created, fully dedicated to the global, Working Mother Experience.

A HUGE thanks goes out to my friend, EMC EVP, Frank Hauck for sponsoring the book project, and to my dear friend and colleague, EMC Executive & Internal Communications Fantastic-o/Project Leader, Stacey Yeoman, for managing it, and bringing it to life.

If you'd like a signed copy of the book, send me a note at pearson_polly@emc.com. I'll send one to you, free of charge, while supplies last. (I'll try to get Natalie's and Stacey's signature for you, too!) If you'd like to download the book, you can do so starting today at emc.com.

------------------ Talk Back --------------------

What do you think could come of this project? Will it impact Employee Engagement, Awareness for the not-at-work-world of Working Moms, Inclusion, other?  We really don't know where it will lead -- it just felt right to do it. 

Stories often start to flow out of people once they've read a page or two, especially from the dads among us. :)

What's your story?

What's your comment on this project or subject matter?

I hope you feel something when you read the book. Please circle back and let me know.