Rebecca Van Wyck commented on a Netflix corporate culture presentation [via] as follows [emphasis mine]:

As a professional woman and expectant mother I ask myself how I could manage my family and work in the corporate culture described in this presentation. Perhaps Passion is the answer. I imagine myself wanting to go to work to take a break from family duties and be inspired by my coworkers on an adult level. But it also seems that my decision to become a mother has put me at a disadvantage time-wise and perhaps energy-wise in the professional development arena and the general marketplace.

My first thought is related to workaholicism referenced in an earlier post; if you lack the ability to discern what must absolutely be executed now (versus next week) and by you alone (versus by a delegate), you likely lack executive-level judgment (which is oftentimes a function of other internal narratives, e.g., “If I do lots of good stuff, then people will love me” or “Everyone else is a moron and I’m the only one who won’t screw it up!”).

Indeed, the Netflix presentation includes slides that suggest a working mother who is only on-site from 9 to 5 will not necessarily have her career compromised, so long as she’s got a bias towards action, has the judgment to bubble up “must dos” from the “can waits”, and can maintain calm in difficult situations (anyone raising a child gets constant practice in this arena!).

Also, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman had encouraging news from their research for Womenomics.  A senior executive at a major corporation was only in the office 25 hours a week; the rest she was able to do off-site (including brainstorming while going for a long run).

My sense is that during the recession, some folks at major corporations have let fear set in, and might be inclined to hunker back down into their male-patterned workstreams.  However, my guess is that once the fear thaws, we will see more flexibility and dynamism in the work model (especially as more irrefutable research like Katty and Claire’s comes to light).

However, I have never been a working mom at a corporation, and so turn to you.

What do you think?  Can working moms thrive at a place like Netflix?