I tend to get pretty excited when I find stories about women who manage to do it all: the women who crank out PRs after having kids; who can balance training with a full-time job; who have mastered the art of being a working mom; or the wonder-woman who manages to handle all of these things. I am inspired by other women who defy the notion that we have to choose.
That’s just what the cover article from the April 21 issue of BusinessWeek is suggesting – that oocyte cryopreservation (AKA egg freezing) technology is now allowing women the freedom to have it all: career now, kids later.
Freeze Your Eggs, Free Your Career!
So why do I not feel empowered or inspired after reading this article? This handy infographic in the text shows that the majority of women who choose cryopreservation are in fact empowered by the process – so why not me?
Oh, that’s right. Because I’m sitting here on maternity leave, in fear that by choosing to have two children before reaching senior management, I’ve been mommy-tracked and my career is toast.
Admittedly, this article is not about me. It’s about women who, around age 35 or so, aren’t in a place to start their family due to personal or professional reasons and wish to preserve their fertility when it wouldn’t be possible naturally. This technology offers incredible freedom and flexibility for these women (those who can afford it, at least). Having had my children by 30, I will still have time for professional pursuits once my children are less dependent. Egg freezing allows women to reverse this logic: they can focus on work now, and can focus on a family later on without the limitations of their biological clock.
The sad part, though, is that our careers need to be freed in the first place. In 2012, Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” suggested that we CAN have it all… just not at the same time. Unfortunately, no amount of technological developments will change the way that women are accepted in our work culture. Egg freezing allows women another way to circumvent this system, but it does not fix the system. We still have a long way to go in that arena.
If you haven’t read Slaughter’s article, please do. It’s fantastic.
Mommy Jogger 