Having it All – or Not

These last few weeks, I haven’t been able to open a single website without seeing some form of commentary about Marissa Mayer and her ascendance to the top of Yahoo. None of these commentaries are complete without someone raising an eyebrow over the fact that she’s pregnant.

So what? I initially thought when I heard the news. I know lots of working mothers.

Well, okay, at the moment I only know one working mother, but I know of lots more.

The people are split into two camps: “She’s going to be a terrible mother while she CEOs and that baby will be neglected,” vs. “She’s going t be a terrible CEO because she’ll be too busy tending to that…thing.”

Frankly, I was inclined to say “Good for her, let’s see how she does,” and leave it at that, but the wheels in my brain started turning. So many people are concerned with having it all, but what does having it all really mean?

If you Google “What is having it all?” you will see a bunch of articles mostly related to women. “If Marissa Mayer can ‘have it all,’ can you?” asks CNN. “Is ‘Having It All’ Possible for Women?” wonders the About site for Women’s Issues. The About site goes into further detail:

"Having it all" -- career, marriage, children, success, happiness -- is the goal of many women. But can you have it all without losing yourself in the process? Does constantly juggling work and family eventually take its toll? Some women give up sleep to gain extra hours in the day to accomplish what needs to be done.

Okay, so having it all means…having it all, literally. That sounds like a crowded life to me, but whatever floats your boat.

On some level, I want to “have it all,” but my concept of having it all doesn’t involve children, and marriage isn’t entirely on the list, either. Does this mean getting it all will be easier for me? Pardon me for channeling Carrie Bradshaw again, but I got to wondering – is having it all the same for everyone?

SQ happens to have quite a few talented women working for it, so I posed this question to them (the men on our staff were asked about it, too): “What is your version of having it all, and do you think you can obtain it? Can you sustain it?”

Over the next week or so, we’ll be running their responses. There may not be any sort of group consensus, but I’m curious to see what everyone thinks about having it all, whether they want it all, and if they think they can get it.

I'm curious to see what everyone thinks!