WHAT DOES “HAVING IT ALL MEAN” MEAN TO THE CONTEMPORARY WOMAN WORKING IN THE PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY INDUSTRY, AND IS IT POSSIBLE? SALON TODAY EXPLORES THE STORIES OF 13 MIGHTY WOMEN AND DISCOVERING HOW THEY DEFINE SUCCESS.

Having it All

The contemporary working woman constantly weighs her scales, determining where she can borrow a bit of time, energy and attention from her personal life to contribute to her professional side and vice versa. She’s a consummate juggler, an expert multi-tasker, and an inspiration and a foundation to colleagues and family members alike. And, until recently, she believed that she truly could “have it all.”

In July 2012, Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department, ignited a firestorm when she penned a story for The Atlantic, titled, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All.” Working mothers around the country began to debate whether they’ve had to sacrifice too much to try to achieve success. To add fuel to the conversation, Yahoo named 37-year-old Marissa Mayer its new CEO, while celebrating the fact that Mayer was also six months pregnant. Simultaneously, the media touted the 2012 London Olympics as the “Year of the Woman.” For the first time in history, every single country team had a female athlete and the female athletes on team USA outnumbered the male athletes.

SALON TODAY decided to join the debate, by questioning whether women in professional beauty—an industry focused on women— can achieve it all and asking what that means exactly. We broadened our definition of “all,” choosing to search for women in the beauty industry who balance successful careers with growing families, leadership positions in the industry, charitable activities and/or additional entrepreneurial pursuits.

While we found thousands of examples of strong and powerful women, we chose the following 11 stories of 13 women who are carefully maintain their own balance and shaping their own sense of ALL.

Sandra Smith
Susan Haise
Renee Shakour
Janine Jarman
Mia Liguori McHugh & Tracy Liguori
Dawn Gerrain
Jan Arnold
Judy Rambert & Lisa Rambert Kersting
Cynthia Porcelli

Beth Bewley
Ann Ratner
 

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