NotMom Founder Talks Creating a Platform That Celebrates Career Women Without Children

Recently, Gabrielle Union spoke out and I think like [Union] and all professional women, the kid thing is a big deal. Also, what I’m hearing more about is workplace issues for women who don’t have kids. If you don’t have children, chances are you may start to volunteer to work extra hours and then after a while it’s obvious that colleagues and your boss expect you to do that because you don’t have kids. So there are [workplace] challenges around the issue.

What can people expect from the first The NotMom Summit taking place this October?
Across the spectrum, we’re trying to make almost every single session reflective of the women who are by choice and by chance. We address everything from financial planning to long-term care. Like if the question is, ‘who will take care of me when I’m old?’ Then we address how to start thinking about that now. Also, how do you talk to friends and family with kids and set boundaries? And if you leave the world and have no kids, how will you be remembered and what will you have left behind? We’ve also got something on pets because we know women without kids tend to have pets in higher numbers. We also have someone talking about environmental issues, and that session came because I kept hearing from women who wanted to join various environmental groups in their communities and when it would come out conversationally that they don’t have kids, people would be like why are you here? Why do you care about the future of the planet if you don’t have kids who will live in it?

We’re also going to talk about dating and on what date do you tell someone you don’t want kids. We also have something on faith, because we hear so much about that and what it’s like to go to church where there are a lot of babies and you want one. For some women, they’ve stopped going to church especially on Mother’s Day. So if you prayed for children and feel your prayers haven’t been answered, where do you stand with God, and is your relationship with him OK? Then we have a session on workplace issues and how do you keep a good relationship with colleagues who are parents, without feeling like you are being taken advantage of?

To learn more about Wright and The NotMom Summit coming up Oct. 9-10 in Cleveland, Ohio, visit TheNotMom.com.