LinkedIn Finally Adds 'Stay-At-Home Mom' As An Official Job Title

Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. Any mom who stays at home with their children knows that it's essentially like having a full-time job. Not only do you have to take care of yourself, your house, and get everything in order, you also have to take care of your children, too.

Many times in society, people tend to "look down" on stay-at-home moms.

Unsplash | Alexander Dummer

Many women who are stay-at-home moms feel that they are looked down upon by other people in society, especially by moms who choose to go back to work.

Some studies say that there's science behind why we stigmatize stay at home moms.

Unsplash | Thiago Cerqueira

Some research says that society sees stay-at-home moms as children themselves, no more adult than anyone else.

That's why many parents feel that it's hard to be stay-at-home parents.

Unsplash | Bram Naus

Especially when it comes to resumes and applying for jobs, it's difficult for people to explain that they have gaps because of time spent at home with children.

Now, LinkedIn is helping parents who are "staying at home" with their kids.

Unsplash | inlytics

Popular social media and business site LinkedIn is making it possible for parents who stay at home with children to fill those employment gaps with the title of "stay-at-home" mom or dad.

The change comes shortly after a mom spoke out in an article published to Medium.

Unsplash | Alvaro Reyes

Heather Bolen spoke out about wanting to get back into the workforce after taking time off to be a stay-at-home mother.

The former corporate Starbucks worker claimed that it's "hard" to show progress after taking time off.

Unsplash | Glenn Carstens-Peters

"It's time for employers to accept that careers are often non-linear and to provide improved policies for remote work, flex time, and paid family leave. And it's time for job seekers to not feel like they must skirt around employment gaps, lest be frozen out," she said.

Bolen pointed out that many people, especially women, face this issue.

Unsplash | Tim Gouw

She stated that as shown in a recent Harvard Business Review study, employers generally view stay-at-home moms and "less capable" and "less committed."

After her post went viral and many mothers agreed, LinkedIn spoke out, as well.

Unsplash | Christina @ wocintechchat.com

Bef Ayenew, director of engineering at LinkedIn, spoke out about the conversation to Fortune, saying that he totally agreed with the sentiment.

He said the company was "working to fix the gaps" for everyone.

Unsplash | Alexander Shatov

"I wholeheartedly agree that we need to normalize employment gaps on the profile to help reframe hiring conversations," Ayenew said.

Do you think this is a great step?

Filed Under: