I have always been a fan of performance evaluations. We all need to know how we are doing, especially if there are areas of challenge. So let’s take a hard look at where things stand in the workplace.

We are thankfully past the time in which women had two very limited choices: “homemaker” or “career woman”, and those teacher/nurse/secretary career choices were, of course, quite narrow.

Next up: The “Have It All” phase, in which we all bought into the myth that women could have dynamic careers and perfectly organized home lives. What a lovely and exhausting myth that was. The media fed into our desire to project an image of success in every area of our lives, all at the same time. The common, hidden theme of this phase was our collective feelings of inadequacy. Even the silly woman in the Enjoli perfume commercial (“I can bring home the bacon…”) seemed to have it together better than we did.

Moving forward to the modern day, we now realize that a demanding career and a time-consuming home life are about choices. We have a set number of hours, and it’s not changing any time soon. It’s simple arithmetic, and every one of our equations is uniquely different.

So, why does the working world continue to pass judgment on women, no matter their choices? Women who choose to stay home are often marginalized, those who are dedicated to high-powered careers are regularly deemed selfish and driven, and career women who make changes to better integrate their work and lives are on a “mommy track?” That’s a lot of name-calling, and if we are being honest, we must admit that women themselves are doing some of the slinging.

Women with career ambitions in the 1950’s had to contend with old-school men who wanted to force them into a homemaker mold. Women with homemaker aspirations in the present day, sadly, contend with other women who attempt to force them into a career mold. That is shameful, ladies. True feminism should be a celebration of women, no matter their choices. Previous generations of women worked very hard to afford us the right to choose our paths.

One simple thing needs to happen for the conflict to end: Culture Change. It’s a wonderful beginning that women are approaching their work in their own way, but we need to go further and spread the word about this concept until it isn’t new any more. That is the best way we can hold the business world to a standard that allows for all women, whether they are in the home, a home office, or the corner office, to be taken as the hard working, dedicated, and powerful community that we are.

By Carolyn Kepcher
LifestyleMom contributor Carolyn Kepcher is the founder of Work Her Way. A high-profile businesswoman, often recognized for her role as an Executive Vice President with the Trump Organization, Carolyn is known by millions for her role on NBC’s hit series, “The Apprentice.” Carolyn is the author of the best-selling business book “Carolyn 101,” which landed at No. 2 on the New York Times best-sellers list. She also writes the weekly “Your Career” column for The New York Daily News, which addresses business, career and balance.