More Than a Fashion Icon: What We Can Learn About Work/Life Balance From Michelle Obama

by Anna T. Collins, Esquire (Portland, Maine)

What will Michelle Obama wear on inauguration day? Who designed her ball gown? These have been the questions de jour, on our mental menus for weeks. Americans are now bombarded by coverage of Michelle Obama’s style from all mediums, perhaps most intensely on-line at Mrs. O, where up-to-the-minute coverage includes analysis of Michelle Obama’s dresses, jewelry, shoes, and hair. The site lets Americans hone their voyeuristic skills, as visitors contribute their best photos detailing every aspect of the person some believe will be as legendary in her fashion choices as the first Mrs. O, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Now, fashion certainly deserves some attention due to its pivotal place in the heart of American pop culture. Michelle Obama has also not spoken publically since becoming First Lady, which inevitably shifts the public lens on the only aspect of her persona the media can currently access: her style. Yet, there is so much more to Michelle Obama than her appreciation of American immigrant designers, unique antique jewelry, or practical flat shoes.

When asked to describe the meaning of Michelle Obama to women, Catherine Wright-Dilbert of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers explains that as the embodiment of a three dimensional presidential spouse, whose role is “not purely derivative, secondary, nor supportive,” Michelle Obama can be the catalyst for a national dialogue “on the multiple societal roles women play, and how our laws, institutions, and policies can support and facilitate them.”

In the spirit of such dialogue, we turned to experts for an analysis of Michelle Obama beyond the purely aesthetic. The experts highlighted the significance of Michelle Obama’s education and professional accomplishments, as well as the meaning of our First Lady to the cultural and sociopolitical ascent of all women. They also acknowledged Michelle Obama’s unique approach to work and marriage, both vital to analyze because of Michelle Obama’s experience with work/life balance.

The Politics of Higher Education

Michelle Obama’s educational accomplishments are impressive. As salutatorian of her high school class, she went on to major in sociology and minor in African American studies at Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude. She then obtained her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988, which now makes her the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, following Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

In regard to the significance of Obama’s high level of educational accomplishment for all women, Terry Neese summarizes as follows: “You might say that higher education is leaving men behind.” Neese, a Distinguished Fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, points to studies showing that by 2020 the number of women that will earn B.A’s will be 156 for each 100 men. In addition, more than 50% of all degrees in recent years have been earned by women. Neese notes, however, that there is still a gap when it comes to bachelor degrees in political science and government (about 52% for men and 47% women), in part because women still feel politics “is dirty and they do not want to get involved.” Michelle Obama’s high education may thus serve not only as an example of women’s advancement, but also an inspiration for women as they aim to overcome the challenges of balancing work and family in a political environment.

The Flexibility of a Working Mother

Autumn Stephens, author of Feisty First Ladies and Other Unforgettable White House Women, agrees that Michelle Obama is an impressive woman in many ways, but says that “the intelligence, education, and influence she brings to the White House are not unprecedented, either among First Ladies or among American women as a whole.” Stephens believes that what is unprecedented, perhaps, is “the degree to which our society appears ready to accept a woman like Obama, rather than viewing her as a threat.”

Stephens believes the public’s willingness to accept Obama may be due in part to the fact that she is not blatantly political or careerist. Instead, she has stated she aims to be “Mom-in-Chief,” focused on her two young children. “It is a huge asset for approval,” Stephens explains “that she has these two young kids for whom she is obviously in a maternal role. If she didn’t have kids, she would be more threatening. People would wonder ‘what is she going to do with all that energy?’”

Yet, Stephens acknowledges that the personal can become political. If she focuses on her children and national issues relating to family, Obama may quietly define what it means to be a modern working mother. Despite her maternal focus, Obama remains a highly accomplished professional with background in both private and non-profit sectors. Stephens wonders what Obama will do after her turn in the White House or when her children are older. By focusing on family issues while her children are young, whether on the personal or national level, Obama can show Americans that “working mothers are flexible and a woman’s working cycle is often very different from that of a man.”

A Marriage of “Full Partners”

According to Quinetta Roberson, professor of management at the Villanova School of Business, Michelle Obama is only the 4th First Lady in history to qualify as a “full partner” using the “Watson Typology,” which categorizes First Ladies on a continuum from non-partner to full partner with their husbands. In that role, Obama joins the ranks of Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalyn Carter and Hillary Clinton.

Roberson believes that Obama is in that “full partner” role more naturally than prior First Ladies due to changes in our society and the unique nature of her marriage. Roberson explains that the role of First Lady evolved substantially when Hillary Clinton wanted to be involved in sociopolitical issues, such as healthcare. “For Clinton,” Roberson explains “that was a choice. It had a little bit to do with changes in society, as women had entered the workforce.” Roberson believes that Obama, on the other hand, is not merely making a choice. She is also being brought to the foreground by her husband, who appears to look at her as a “full partner.” “We have never had a President before,” Roberson explains, “calling the First Lady ‘the Rock of our family’ or ‘my best friend’.”

Roberson concludes that full partnership appears to be natural for the Obamas, creating a new type of marriage for the public to analyze, one of two “best friends.” “I have heard men say they are looking for a Michelle Obama,” Roberson shares, “…an accomplished woman who can carry the load, have his back, be his partner.” This type of marriage not only makes the Obamas feel accessible, but underlines a new type of marriage sought out by some accomplished women and men.

Bottom Line: A Modern Approach to Work/Life Balance

Michelle Obama has openly discussed the importance of her family’s extended support system, including her mother and friends, to her achievement of work/life balance. In light of Obama’s educational and professional accomplishments, her approach to work and family, and the unique nature of her marriage, it is not surprising experts agree she will highlight a modern approach to work/life balance – one that requires the support of many, as well as flexibility to focus on family or career if necessary.

It is thus not surprisingly that organizations such as the National Association of Mothers’ Centers will be looking to Michelle Obama, as well as her husband, to “promote the idea that workers are also caregivers, and [that] the need to be economically self-sufficient co-exists with the need to care for children, the ill, elderly, and disabled.” Michelle Obama, after all, “embodies the myriad talents, abilities, and obligations of women in today’s society.” And, she wears practical flat shoes.

Photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/3216385048/in/photostream/.