Can highflying women have it all?
Published 29 May, 2008, 05:22
Balancing career and family life has always been a challenge for business folk. And even more so for modern businesswomen, who may find it difficult to be successful at work while remaining both good wives and mothers.
Irina runs an image consultancy firm, helping to give the movers and shakers of Russian society makeovers.
“The most difficult thing is to switch between the roles of a mother, a wife and a manager. I do get carried away now and then and my husband gently reminds me that I can relax because I am at home,” she said.
Olga’s firm made her a millionaire but it's been a hard road and she says she would rather have had more time to be a mum.
“Some women have unhappy family lives, and business comes up as a way out. At least, in my case it did. If everything was great in my family, I’d have been happy to stay at home – but it wasn’t. If I had a daughter, there is no way she would have to go into business,” she said.
At just twenty, Katya is part of a new generation of ambitious, successful young Russian women. Her advertising company turns over six million dollars a year.
It is demanding work with long hours. She says she'd like children one day but doesn't see how some women manage to combine everything.
“In the future, I would like to have a family and children. But so far I can't see how I'll be able to fit it in with my career,” she said.
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