Sidelined—It's Time to Reconsider the Stalled Professional Development of Aspiring Nurse Leaders During Childrearing Years

The conversation about working mothers in leadership roles has escalated in recent months in the popular press and more scholarly general literature such as The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review (HBR). Yet, ironically in a profession so heavily dominated by women as nursing, 90.4% according to a 2013 US Census Bureau Study, Men in Nursing Occupations,1 the profession may not be as focused as it should be on recognizing potential leaders among nurses in the early stages of their careers, particularly those who have chosen to start and raise a family and work simultaneously. Of course, nursing has strong and talented women in key leadership positions, but they have yet to address the current issue at hand—how to engage and develop aspiring nurse leaders during childbearing years when they often choose part-time employment and divide their time between work and at-home parenting.