Is the new Yahoo CEO the new poster-woman for working moms?

Marissa Mayer, new CEO of Yahoo. Photo Credit: Fortune Mag & CNN Money

The big move starts tomorrow – so I REALLY don’t have time for the kind of post that is running through my head and crowding my thoughts – but I had to throw something up. Last night, I heard the news that Marissa Mayer was named newly appointed CEO of Yahoo. I thought it was cool and just didn’t focus. Tomorrow’s move on the brain, I guess.

This morning I heard a news blurb that she is 37. Wow – that shocked me. She could join our Forever 39 wine and yoga pants club.

Then the news followed up with this – she is pregnant with her first child and due in October.

If that didn’t stop every one of us dead in our tracks, I don’t know what will.

Forget the Anne-Marie Slaughter piece, forget everything else – here we have actual action. We have a youngish business WOMAN appointed CEO of a large company….and she is pregnant – not just newly pregnant but very pregnant – and taking her maternity leave.

All eyes are on her amongst the working mom set, whether she likes it or not. Did she suddenly just become the new poster-woman for breaking new ground, actually breaking some barriers and setting an example that pregnant women should still be interviewing for all kinds of jobs – even competitive intense jobs – and that pregnancy should not be considered as a barrier to strong candidates?

And will it be the edgier, newer businesses that will walk-the-walk about work-life balance and adapt to helping families manage careers and family – in a way that the older, more established businesses just can’t seem to be able to do?

I hope business people, HR departments, hiring managers everywhere are taking notice. This decision on the part of Yahoo isn’t just another philosophical piece published by a privileged woman – this is a stop-you-dead  in your tracks decision that sends a loud message.

Last year, I interviewed a friend who is also an attorney with the EEOC. She sees work discrimination cases every single day. She has a very realistic perspective and she provided some excellent advice to women who are pregnant and interviewing or considering a job search. Since posting that interview, I consistently see traffic to my blog where someone entered the search terms “should I interview while pregnant?”

Ladies  – I don’t think anything just changed over night but hopefully this empowers you. What do you think? Is the hiring of Marissa Mayer significant for working women everywhere? I will resume the WM Working Moms Hero series, probably next week. Until then, for more on working moms, “Like” the WM Facebook page.