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Glimpse inside Working Mother magazine with Suzanne Riss, Editor-in-Chief (part one)

 

Being a working mom and at one time a single mom, presented me with many challenges just as it does all working mothers, especially those working outside of the home. So when I had the opportunity to interview Suzanne Riss, Editor-in-Chief of Working Mother magazine, I was curious what she enjoyed the most about being a working mother?

Suzanne: “I love being a strong role model for my son. I enjoy showing him by example that women can have interesting work and fulfilling careers, and also be devoted mothers.”

Sally: “What has been your biggest challenge being both a mom and a professional? What helps you to maintain a balance between the demands of your job and those of home?”

Suzanne: “The biggest challenge is fitting in everything I want to do for work and my family into every day. Some days, one or the other will be the priority. I am thankful that my employer believes in flexible schedules, so I am able to telecommute one day a week. That means rather than spend 3 hours traveling to and from work one day a week, I can drop my son at preschool, pick him up at the end of the day, and still get more work done than if I went to the office.”

 

Sally: “It's great that many employers allow telecommuting. It certainly helps with family life. If readers could get a glimpse into what a typical day for you is like, what would they discover? What do you think would surprise them to learn about your job?”

Suzanne: “My job involves a lot more meetings than editing. I often edit stories at night after my son is asleep. During the day I am meeting with the creative team, going over images, approving layouts. I am meeting with reporters and editors, brainstorming about how to cover a story or coming up with new story ideas. Or I am out in the field meeting with companies that want to better serve their working mom employees, entrepreneurs, and readers. My day is non-stop, but it's creative, rarely the same, and I always feel I've accomplished a great deal.”

Sally: “During your busy schedule as the Editor-in-Chief of the premiere magazine for working moms what would you say is your main objective?”

 

Suzanne: “My main objective is to give working mothers new ideas about finding fulfillment and joy in their busy lives. I want to remind them that they're part of a community that really gets what they're experiencing and can offer a supportive shoulder to lean on.”

Sally: “I think you’re definitely accomplishing that with Working Mother magazine. I’m sure there are always certain industry standards and expectations within your profession. What have you discovered to be the biggest difference between your duties at Working Mother and your previous positions as Editor-in-Chief for Ticker or Managing Editor for American Demographics?”

Suzanne: “This is an unusual magazine because we not only cover stories that interest our readers, but we advocate on their behalf. We believe it's a problem that the United States along with Australia are the only industrialized nations that don't offer PAID maternity. We also push corporate America with our 100 Best Companies list to improve the benefits offered to working parents. The beauty of this list is that companies see what their competitors are doing in terms of best practices, and because they want to hire the best and the brightest, they may start offering more maternity leave, or paternity leave, or more advancement training. A little friendly competition can ignite a lot of positive changes!”

To be continued…

 

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion as Suzanne discusses the top five issues working mothers face and gives a bit of advice to moms who might be too busy for romance.