"Working Women" Aren't The Problem

The 2010s were the Girl Boss Era — a time of pop feminism, Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, and endless glorification of women climbing the corporate ladder. And, like any far-left pendulum swing, culture inevitably swings the other way.

Today, we’re seeing that correction through the rise of the "tradwife" — the stay-at-home, homemaking, frilly-frock-wearing, sourdough-bread-making aesthetic that's exploded across social media.

But if you look closely, the debate about a woman’s role in society — and especially in dating — is way more complicated than career woman vs. tradwife. And lately, it's reached a boiling point.

Popular commentator Megyn Kelly dipped her toe into this middle ground — and got attacked from both sides for it. Kelly, who’s criticized by the left for being a Trump supporter and by the right for not being "anti-feminist" enough, posted a clip on X about how young women she mentors are struggling to find men who accept their desire to work full-time.

Predictably, the backlash was intense. If you know X, you know it’s home to some of the most aggressively anti-feminist voices on the internet. Kelly had to know the firestorm she was stepping into.

The backlash to Kelly’s comments isn’t happening in a vacuum. It's tied to the rise of the Tate brothers, Fresh and Fit podcasters, and a broader internet culture that pushes the idea that “high-value men” want women who are always available — prioritizing family over everything else.

While these voices are tapping into a real critique of corporate feminism, they also oversimplify life into clickbait soundbites. Real life? It’s way more complex.

Commentators like Jason Whitlock, Jon Root, and Peachy Keenan piled on Kelly’s take. Some were respectful, some not so much.

But interestingly, even among the critics, one thing was clear: everyone agrees that a mother’s presence during early childhood is crucial. That’s the common ground.

The divide happens when people start treating career and family as mutually exclusive — when working women are either villainized for having ambition or pressured to abandon it completely.

Here’s where the conversation totally breaks down: nobody agrees on what a "working woman" even is anymore.

Some people on the right hear “working woman” and they imagine a passionless corporate drone, grinding 80 hours a week for a Fortune 500 company while neglecting her family and chasing an empty salary-driven life. That’s feminism.

But that’s not the reality for many conservative women who work today.

Today’s working woman often works from home, runs her own business, creates on social media, and pivots her work around the seasons of her life. She’s not choosing corporate greed over family values — she’s balancing passion and purpose with family life.

I understand that most men don’t want "boss babes" who prioritize status over family. But a woman who works out of passion, with flexibility, and who values family above her career? That’s not unattractive. That’s admirable. Yet, somehow it’s getting demonized on social media.

Take Ballerina Farm as a prime example: She runs a massive farm business, raises eight kids, and inspires millions online. She’s a working woman — and she’s celebrated for it, not shamed.

It’s not work itself that’s the problem — it’s why she works, and how that work fits into her life.

The idea that men universally "don't want" working women is lazy thinking. It misses the heart of the real dating debate.

If a woman’s career is rooted in passion, structured around her family values, and flexible enough to shift with the seasons of life — that’s a woman worth celebrating, not rejecting.

Men, don't rule out a woman because of her title. Look deeper. Understand her motivations. You might just find exactly what you’re looking for.

For my full thoughts on this topic listen to THIS bonus episode of Underreported Stories.

Share