“Sacrifice” would be a perspective that I don’t have about my career, however it has definitely been applied to me by others about different aspects. For example:
- I have been married for 15 years, and have no children.
- I have lived out of a suitcase more than half of those years.
- I rarely see or talk to my family (other than my husband much less the extended family) because when I have a spare moment I’d much rather be with my husband.
- Oh, and I’m a workaholic.
These are not sacrifices, these are just who and how I am. And yet, other people have the perspective that I am a pitiable “vagabond” who does not know the “joy of children” and who “has to work” to fuel the “family-shaped hole in her heart.”
(All are direct quotes of things that have been said to me in misguided kindness over the years, and they aren’t the worst.)
I understand why they think the way they do. It’s part of what I do as a coach to help other people understand there are other ways to think as well 😉
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-sacrifices-have-women-in-leadership-especially-in-tech-fields-had-to-make-in-order-to-have-a-successful-career
Originally Posted On: 2015-12-17