Rihanna says work-life balance as a mom is “nearly impossible” in America
Being a mom in the US is tough, even for a multi-hyphenated singer, business leader, and fashion mogul who’s a self-made billionaire. Despite the access and resources that status brings, Rihanna is still not immune to the challenges of finding a work-life balance.
“It’s very different,” Rihanna said of her postpartum life at a press conference on Thursday’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. “The balance is almost impossible because no matter how you look at it, work is always something that robs you of time with your child. That’s the currency now, that’s where it’s going. The magnitude of how much it weighs.”
While Rihanna hasn’t released a new album or toured since 2016, she’s headlining the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday. And she’s been working hard over the last few years building a business empire out of Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand, and Savage x Fenty, a lingerie brand. Last year, she gave birth to a baby boy, A$AP Rocky (his name has not yet been released). While the star and businesswoman likely hired support to help with caregiving, she seems to reckon with the age-old pressures of “doing anything” and the mental toll that comes with running a business and family.
In that sense, the “Work” singer is like many high-profile women who open up about the difficulties of juggling work (work, work, work) with time for their kids. Despite the rise of women entering the labor market since the 1950s, caring responsibilities still often fall on them, meaning their plates have only gotten fuller.
“No one has more than 24 hours in a day,” said Misty Heggeness, an associate professor of public affairs at the University of Kansas wealth. “If your work increases in one area, it must decrease in another.”
About two-thirds of working women in the US with one or more direct reports say they have hired employees to take some of the burden of care off their shoulders (from grocery delivery services to childcare and cleaning services), according to a wealth Survey of around 400 high profile women conducted using The Muse and Fairygodboss. But there’s a stigma to admitting it.
“Perhaps professionally it is more acceptable to get help, to delegate. But I feel like as women we often tend to look at our personal lives and feel like we have to do everything we can,” Molly McAllister, chief medical officer and senior vice president of veterinary affairs, which outsources services to to let her personal life run more smoothly, tells Assets Megan Leonhardt.
Finding a work-life balance can be even more difficult for women in non-managerial positions, whose salaries may not be high enough to afford hired help or childcare. Unpaid labor and childcare costs have pushed many women out of the labor market. About 4.5 million Americans were out of work in January for caring for children not enrolled in daycare or school programs.
“I loved working and want to get back to work but the cost, the logistics and the high likelihood of having to be there in person [working] at set times, everything feels unrealistic,” Jennifer Parks, a former pharmaceutical production employee, told Leonhardt.
While Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl appearance suggests she won’t be leaving the workforce anytime soon, the burden of leaving her child is a factor when it comes to making career decisions. “When you make decisions about what you’re going to say yes to, it has to be worth it,” Rihanna said at the press conference.
She admitted that taking the halftime slot was “certainly” worth it; After all, it will likely boost her career as a music artist and showcase Rihanna’s entire business.
Learn how to navigate and build trust in your organization with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter exploring what leaders need to succeed. Login here.
