LinkedIn adds ‘Stay-at-Home Parent’ to Career Titles

But will it change the perceived stigma of motherhood?

One small step for a professional platform, one giant leap for motherhood. LinkedIn now offers “stay-at-home mom,” “stay-at-home dad,” or “stay-at-home parent” under job titles.

I paraphrase Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon.

It’s my attempt to emphasize this historic and prehistoric milestone.

I applaud LinkedIn. I want to believe this contemporizes the conversation. Kudos to Medium writer Heather Bolen for instigating this change as detailed in last year’s Fortune Magazine piece.

But does it?

Forgive my skepticism. I find it hard to believe. The journalist and mother in me observe the obvious and not so obvious contradictions.

This news is peppered with distinct phrases. In the past few weeks, articles reference the traditional workforce, employment gaps, paid labor force, and caregivers. Let’s pare this down. If this was conventional work jargon it would read something like this…workforce, employment, and labor force.

Not traditional, gap, paid, or gasp… caregivers.

Let’s be honest.

Stay-at-home mothers are employment relics. They’re not current or historic. They’re considered prehistoric. A LinkedIn job title won’t magically transform this.

It’s the ever-present double standard. Women are celebrated for a miraculous wonder known as birth. In case you’ve forgotten, it keeps the employment pool populated.

It’s no small feat.

We are congratulated for making difficult and highly personalized choices for our families. The old pat on the back. The ‘good for you’ turn of phrase.

Until we attempt to assimilate back into the workforce.

Enter stigma and shame. Bizarrely associated with raising our children. Does anyone want to tell them that? In between reading stories of Cinderella, Superman, and other feel-good fairy tales. Nope.

We tell them the sky’s the limit.

Other princesses beware.

But gasp, cover your ears, mommy can’t be a bad *ss boss. Because she took a few years off. To read you bedtime stories that promised you could be anything your heart desired.

Don’t worry.

Mommy’s not a liar.

Employers are just pretending. They’re acting as if they embrace these contemporary yet behind the times concepts, they secretly judge.

Stay-at-home mothers are seen as irrelevant. They’re matched with unpleasant stereotypical descriptors. They’re often regarded as unskilled, unmotivated, lazy, and generally lacking in professional capability.

I have a confession.

I was a stay-at-home mom. In a shameful attempt to gain credibility I’ll include my backstory. In order to overcome my ‘mom’ status. I built a business with my husband. We had to hire someone to replace me in the office or at home.

I fell down the rabbit hole with Alice.

I’m grateful to Heather Bolen for garnishing the attention of LinkedIn. Her article How a Simple Platform Fix Can Help Millions of Women Trying to Re-Enter the Workforce is to thank for this news.

I commend LinkedIn for listening.

It’s a start.

But spoiler alert. Some recruiters have discouraged this stay-at-home parent job title. They’ve advised not to put it on a resume. Are we really surprised?

This was one small step for a professional platform. NOT such a giant leap for motherhood. It’s an obligatory endeavor. It doesn’t alter stereotypes. It isn’t transformative. The skeptics won’t embrace a woman’s contributing value minus a dollar sign.

It doesn’t change the perception of employers and society.

It’s one person stepping on the moon.

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