– No labels. After working for a decade in corporate America, Neha Ruch put her career on pause when her first child was born in 2017. She’s been trying to upend the stereotypical view of the stay-at-home mom ever since.

Though her career path is no longer as straight-forward as it had been, Ruch bristles at the implication that SAHMs aren’t also professionally ambitious. The founder and CEO of digital community Mother Untitled, she believes it’s time to modernize our conception of what stay-at-home motherhood means—and to stop pitting moms who work professionally against those who don’t.

“We need to dismantle these old static titles because there is so much gray in between,” Ruch tells Fortune. “Let’s show the vast spectrum of choices for women and men.”

To help move the conversation forward, Mother Untitled recently released a survey called “American Mothers on Pause” on the experiences of 1,200 college-educated stay-at-home moms. It explores how these women chose to pause or downshift their careers to stay home with their kids, how they feel day-to-day, and how others perceive their choices. 

Yumi Matsuo/Courtesy of Mother Untitled

Very few women in 2023 reflect the “traditionalist tropes” put on stay-at-home moms, Ruch says. While stereotypes suggest a SAHM is someone shut in or closed off from the world, that couldn’t be further from the truth for those surveyed by Mother Untitled. Almost 40% of SAHMs regularly participate in an activity outside the home, such as volunteering, working on a side business, or working on a passion project, according to the survey. They are also more likely to shift in and out of the workforce over time as necessary for their families, says Ruch.

Being a stay-at-home mom is not permanent, as is often the perception: Previous research found that 93% of highly qualified women who pause or downshift their careers plan to return to the paid workforce. When they do, they are more likely to value flexibility. 

“What we see more than ever is people making the right choice for right now,” says Ruch. “But people are dialing up and dialing down all the time.”

The survey provides critical insight into a population that isn’t always represented in the national conversations on motherhood and careers, Ruch says. She hopes to crack those dialogues wide open.

“Every mother is mothering,” she says. “Every mother is working.”

Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
@AliciaAdamczyk

The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Safe space. As return-to-office mandates expose more workplace relationships, new data shows that remote work is a defense against sexual harassment on the job. Of women who work remotely, 5% experienced sexual harassment in the past three years compared to 12% of women who work in-person. The 19th

- Taking stock. Women's knowledge of the stock market is growing, according to new J.P. Morgan research. The study found the trend was especially strong among women of color: 68% of Black women and 62% of Hispanic and Latina women say they know more about the stock market than they did five years ago. Overall, women are sticking with the stock market; 83% say they plan on investing at least the same amount this year as they did last year, versus 74% of men. Fast Company

- Covering Somalia. It’s now been 18 months since the all-women newsroom Bilan launched in Somalia, a country believed to be dangerous for journalists. The newsroom has covered controversial topics like menstruation stigma and albinism. Reuters

- Hedge fund hell. A 20th woman is accusing Odey Asset Management founder Crispin Odey of sexual harassment, according to the Financial Times, and is alleging that the investor asked her to downplay the incident when he was under investigation. The accuser stated that the incident, which allegedly occurred in 2005, was part of a “culture of fairly prolific sexual harassment.” Odey admitted to this particular case of harassment but hasn’t commented on the others. Financial Times

- Personal fortune. Longtime Wheel of Fortune cohost Vanna White has renewed her contract with the game show through the 2025–26 season. The deal includes White's first pay raise in 18 years. The show paid her roughly $3 million a year since 2005; outgoing cohost Pat Sajack makes five times as much. Fortune

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: J.P. Morgan Wealth Management named Janet Sweeney as regional director for the Southeast. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appointed Mary Fuller to regional director in the Silicon Valley regional office. Tiger Infrastructure Partners hired Jeannette Gorgas as an operating partner. 

ON MY RADAR

Bobby Riggs said he could beat the top women’s tennis players. 50 years ago today, he got his chance CNN

Katie Porter and the politics of real life Washington Post

25 famous women on their college lives The Cut

PARTING WORDS

"It was hard to be an outspoken Black woman."

—Model Naomi Campbell on advocating for herself in the fashion industry and being labeled "difficult" and "nightmare" for it