Workin’ Moms is a Canadian sitcom which premiered in 2017. Earlier this year the third season aired on CBC, while the first season dropped on Netflix. This led to a new wave of popularity as well as to me binge-watching it. It was a great show.

Catherine Reitman, who I really enjoyed in Black-Ish, stars in the show. She’s also involved in the creating and directing side of the project. The show is about a group of women and how motherhood is impacting their life. I found interesting the idea of a show discussing issues that first-time mothers encounter but don’t get enough attention.

I already know I will want to keep my career after children, which is why Kate’s storyline was the one that engaged me the most. She’s an ambitious PR Executive who just came back from maternity leave. Halfway the season her boss announces the opportunity to manage a big account in Montreal. The choice is between her and her younger male colleague with no children. At first, I thought that the story would be about working moms being overlooked for promotions but, to my surprise, she would be the one getting the job in the end.

However, celebrations didn’t last long, as she would leave only a couple of days after starting. Her husband calls worried about their son during an important presentation in front of a big client. At that point, we didn’t know yet if the child had something serious or not. However, after a brief exchange with her female new boss which was portrayed as a cold woman who didn’t care much about her children, Kate decides to leave everything and takes a flight back home.

My problem with this ending is the fact that it perpetuates the idea that working moms are unreliable. The fact that if you decide to give the promotion to the working mom, she will let you down. I am not saying that she shouldn’t have worried about the situation back home but then, why take the promotion? I would have personally preferred if she just decided to pass on rather than taking it and making everyone waste time. This is a belief a lot of people already have, unfortunately, and I believe that showing a working mom dealing with guilt while also focusing on her career would have been refreshing.

I haven’t watched the second and third seasons yet so I don’t know where they will go with this storyline, but hopefully, they will address it in some way.