Career Advice & News Center

Women who are looking to balance their careers as managers and raising a family may have seen promotions pass them by and been stressed from long hours, but that could change very soon.

The problem, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says, is that "there's no such thing as work-life balance" for women, according to VanguardNGR.com. He went on to say that family issues have kept promising female candidates from rising to upper management positions in his firm because of concerns over how much time they can commit to their jobs.

Nearly half of all managers nationwide are women, and two workplace experts say that the ideals espoused by Welch are likely to change drastically based on the needs of women who want a family and a career at the same time.

"Employed women increasingly feel more entitled to say, 'I need and I want to work in a certain way,'" Dr Kathleen Christensen told the Huffington Post. "The one-size-fits-all workplace doesn't work."

Some companies have been responding to these needs by offering flextime, which enables workers and managers to receive an extra day off every two weeks.

Katty Kay and Claire Shipman have authored a book on the topic called Womenomics, and they told the website that women should focus on being able to say no to demands on their time that they cannot achieve, and to embrace delegating responsibilities to others as needed.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been supportive of these efforts to increase the family friendly benefits available in the workplace like flexible working hours and leave for parents caring for ill children.