Now, she would never consider returning to work, but the challenges of staying home were real. Now with 70 member mothers, the chapter belongs to a national organization founded by an Illinois mother, Joanne Brundage, who left her job as a mail carrier to stay home with her children. The national group, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this fall, has taken off. In the past two years alone, membership has doubled to 5,500 women in 150 chapters. Balancing work and family has become the great American juggling act of the '90s.
Many couples argue that it's financially impossible to have one spouse at home full time.
And women, who still do most of the juggling, often see stepping out of the labor force as career suicide. In fact, the number of women in the office with young children is higher than ever. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 62 percent of mothers with children under 6 now work, up from 47 percent in 1980. With companies demanding more from employees, more couples find themselves at a crossroads. Brenda Barnes, chief executive at Pepsi-Cola North America, recently reignited the debate when she left her post to be at home with her husband and three children.