Women should return to the office – for themselves and their families

Speaking of my late mother, I have no doubt that had she gone out to work rather than staying at home, she would not have become an alcoholic.

I think she turned to the bottle because she had a deep rooted mental health problem that was exacerbated by feeling trapped and unfulfilled, despite the love of a devoted husband and three children. She was an incredibly bright woman and could have done so much more with her life.

So when people turn to me, as they often do, and question why I am “such” a career woman, I reply that I choose to work because it makes me a better mother. That is not to say that those who stay at home aren’t good mothers – but women must do what makes them happiest in order to create a happy home.

So I was encouraged to hear Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni this week extolling the virtues of women making their own living. The 46-yearold told mothers in Italy to go back to the office, saying that if she can run the country with a seven-year-old daughter, so can they.

Asked about her party’s promotion of motherhood and the traditional

They must do what makes them happiest in order to create a happy home

family, Meloni told a three-hour press conference: “If I were asked to choose between the role of prime minister and my daughter, Ginevra, I would have no doubts, like any other mother, because motherhood gives something that nothing else can give.”

She added: “Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has seven children. Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, has four children. You can do it.”

While I agree with my colleague Allison Pearson that working motherhood is less a case of “having it all” and more one of “doing it all”, it is possible to be both good at your job and a good parent.

Not a perfect parent, I grant you, since no such thing exists.

But the notion of motherhood and the traditional family is not weakened by women going out to work. It’s weakened by those who seek to undermine them instead of supporting them.