Denise Warren
Relationship: Mother
Education: Tulane University Undergraduate, Fordham University Graduate School
Past Job: General Manager-NYTimes.com at The New York Times; Chief Advertising Officer at The New York Times
Current Job: Executive Vice President, Digital Products & Services at The New York Times
Relationship: Mother
Education: Tulane University Undergraduate, Fordham University Graduate School
Past Job: General Manager-NYTimes.com at The New York Times; Chief Advertising Officer at The New York Times
Current Job: Executive Vice President, Digital Products & Services at The New York Times
Denise Warren is the Executive Vice President of Digital Products and Services for The New York Times company. This is how the outside world knows her but I know her simply as my mother. As it is impossible to conduct an in person interview, I was able to conduct a video chat interview in our home. This is a comfortable environment for my mother and this type of environment is needed in order to have an effective interview.
Until this interview, I never really thought about how my mother dealt with being a working mom. During the course of the interview, it became clear to me that there were several challenges my mother had to confront and I admire her even more knowing how difficult it was from her perspective to accomplish having a great family as well as a great career.
The first question I asked my mother was, "was it difficult to be among the relatively few working mother's in the neighborhood?" My mother admitted that there were times where she felt like an outcast. She explains that while she had some close friends who would do anything for her, many of the people who did not know her, made her feel bad about being a working mother. These people were not always as accepting of our different lifestyle and this was most definitely a challenge. I agreed with my mom and could completely understand how difficult it must have been to have two young girls and going to work without seeing them every morning. I think back to my home friends and the amount of times I would go home with them after school and their mom's would be there to make them food and ask them about their days. I then asked her, "how/why did you make the decision to have a family as well as a career?" Like many, she had worked before she had me, her first daughter. She spoke about how she loved her career and loved the intellectual stimulation of her job and how she enjoyed working for a company that had a mission and does something that is good for society. She explained to me how she took a long term view that after 18-20 years, your kids leave you and go into the world. She knew these years would fly by and she felt that working would give her something to do. My mom explained to me that she had found her passion at an organization she was happy working at and she knew wanted to make this work. This was tough and there were times she was torn and it was difficult to leave small babies home with a housekeeper but my mother and father always tried to find the best care. My mom explained how she and my father always tried to make sure someone was around for the important events, such as sporting events and dance competitions. She mentioned how fortunate we were to live near both sets of grandparents and always have them around. She always said how in the neighborhood we had great relationships and we created a network of people who supported us. She says how it is very challenging being a working mom and at work she is able to have some flexibility in her work schedule, which enabled her to spend more time at home. She also mentioned the advent of technology and how she is able to use computers and systems and work from home when needed. There are times she felt guilty and deeply questioned whether or not this was the right path. Looking back now and having the perspective she has now, my mother can honestly say that she's chosen the right path. She has taught her children you can be successful and have a family and a career. This is so difficult in our society and many women have to make the choice between one of the other, but my mother and I both do not believe this is the case. My mom concluded with the phrase, "I am so happy I am able to be a role model for my daughters in that regard." |
I then asked her some of the pros and cons about being a working mother.
My mom started off with the cons and said how there are most definitely more pros to being a working parents, but there are also some cons. She said how she doesn't feel like she spends enough time on herself. She has her family and work and not enough "me" time. "I make it so my family doesn't feel the effects of me working." She does not enough time to go to the gym and do things for herself, such as errands and relaxing. Another con is not spending as much physical time with her kids as other people do. However, the pro to this is that the time spent is quality time and the numbers of hours don't matter. What is important, is how you spend the time. Although there are several cons that arise from being a working mother, there are also several benefits. Working has built an important pillar for my mother and her career and she's been able to have a successful career and a really great and amazing family. She has learned the important of balance and making sure one has the right balance is vital. She also mentioned the obvious benefit of being financially flexible when you have more than one working parent. Perhaps one of the most interesting benefits of working in such an acclaimed company is the people she's met in her work life. Through The New York Times, she's met some of the smartest and most interesting people in the world and this is stimulating for her as an individual. The last question I asked my mom was, "what one of the hardest she had to make was." This question was extremely easy for my mom to answer. She responded with, "whether to accept increasing levels of responsibility at work and the impact it would have on the family. This has happened several times throughout her career and it got easier each time. The approach she took was to rely on her network of friends and her husband was very supportive. When they asked her to return full time they told her that she able to have some flexibility. My mom explained to me how vacations became a great way for us to connect as a family and allows us to recharge and be with one another. "I've really valued the importance of our vacation time." I can agree that family vacations are always my happiest times and I love to share the laughter and stories with my family. This interview with my mom was extremely influential and useful for my life as an aspiring working woman. I plan to have the same successes as she does and the ability to effectively balance my career as well as a family. These two jobs are equally important to me as an individual and I aspire to be as courageous and brave as my mother is!
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