Learn to live with our choices

Re: The main reason a wage gap exists: Motherhood, Howard Levitt column, Aug. 18

As a woman who chose not to have children and who has been in the workforce for 40 years, here’s my two cents. People’s choices do determine outcomes. Stepping out of the workforce for years, and/or opting for less demanding careers to put family first, equals less money.

There are rewards in both choices, but they are not both monetary. In my many years in the workforce, I cannot begin to count the number of times that I have worked extra hours to cover for moms (child appointments, illnesses, unexpected emergencies) and also had to ensure that my vacation time didn’t conflict with the school schedule, so that the work we are all paid to do could actually get done.

And I’ve often felt, that because I am a woman, it was expected that I cover for my gender, as though motherhood was some higher calling and that I owed a debt to their life choices. I wouldn’t feel this way if those who expected me to sacrifice for them, didn’t also expect to obtain the same monetary rewards.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not bitter and I feel my choices have been rewarded. One’s choices and the commitment to them will always determine the reward. Be thankful we have the freedom to make choices. And learn to live with them.

Kelly Tuhten, Coquitlam