--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a father puts in long hours at work…" description: "\"When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for being dedicated and ambitious. But when a mother stays late at the office, she's sometimes a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michelle-obama-518_late_when-a-father-puts-in-long-hours-at-work_1082956.jpg" --- # When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for… ![“When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for being dedicated and ambitious. But when a mother stays late at the office, she's sometimes accused of being selfish, neglecting her kids.” quote by Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michelle-obama-518_late_when-a-father-puts-in-long-hours-at-work_1082956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michelle-obama-518_late_when-a-father-puts-in-long-hours-at-work_1082956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michelle-obama-518_late_when-a-father-puts-in-long-hours-at-work_1082956.jpg) > “When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for being dedicated and ambitious. But when a mother stays late at the office, she's sometimes accused of being selfish, neglecting her kids.” [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights double standards where men’s long work hours are praised while women’s are criticized as selfish. **In simple terms:** Women face unfair judgment for the same dedication men receive. Key Takeaway Address gender bias in workplace expectations. Themes gender equality workplace double standards family society Mood reflective hopeful Type advocacy inspirational When to use this quote - HR policies - parental leave - career counseling - media representation Key Concepts bias expectations role conflict Questions to Reflect On - What policies can reduce this bias? - How does culture shape these perceptions? A Different Perspective It may simplify complex family dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accused Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accused-selfish-864387/) [Ambitious Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-mother-2758534/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Late Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-office-793228/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-hours/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish Neglecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-neglecting-2758533/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Ah, selfish. There’s that word again.” Sherry smirked. “It’s been hurled at me many a time, because being a mother and wife is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-lochen/ah-selfish-there-s-that-word-again-sherry-smirked-it-s-been-hurled-at/) [Andrea Lochen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-lochen/) > [I doubt if a charging elephant, or a rhino, is as determined or hard to check as a socially ambitious mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-doubt-if-a-charging-elephant-or-a-rhino-is-as-determined-or-hard-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“I have two choices in life: I either try to do the right thing and get accused of being selfish, or I just do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/i-have-two-choices-in-life-i-either-try-to-do-the-right-thing-and-get/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/i-always-arrive-late-at-the-office-but-i-make-up-for-it-by-leaving/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“...he arrived late at the office, perceived that his doing so made no difference whatever to any one, and was filled with sudden exasperation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-arrived-late-at-the-office-perceived-that-his-doing-so-made-no/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“I’m messy and a slob and I like beer a little too much. I work long hours and I like to be outside more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-zart/i-m-messy-and-a-slob-and-i-like-beer-a-little-too-much-i-work-long/) [Lindy Zart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-zart/) > [Nothing is so discouraging to an actor than to have to work for long hours upon hours in brightly lighted interior sets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/nothing-is-so-discouraging-to-an-actor-than-to-have-to-work-for-long/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I really love learning and working long hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bae-doona/i-really-love-learning-and-working-long-hours/) [Bae Doona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bae-doona/) > [“I realize that long hours of reading are not for everyone but I have never ceased to be grateful that they are for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-p-hass/i-realize-that-long-hours-of-reading-are-not-for-everyone-but-i-have/) [Victor P. Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-p-hass/) > [At my ashram, people work long hours joyfully because they are inspired. When people are involved and joyfully doing something, they usually turn out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/at-my-ashram-people-work-long-hours-joyfully-because-they-are/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [It's kind of the yin and yang that fascinate me. That for all the evil men do, there are also people who work obnoxiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/it-s-kind-of-the-yin-and-yang-that-fascinate-me-that-for-all-the-evil/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [It's kind of hard to spend long hours trying to help people and then find out that the favorite game of the columnist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-scott/it-s-kind-of-hard-to-spend-long-hours-trying-to-help-people-and-then/) [Bill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-scott/) > [“I have heard several people justify working long hours and getting home from work late it night by saying things like, “I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/i-have-heard-several-people-justify-working-long-hours-and-getting/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [“So seemed it to me, as I stood at her helm, and for long hours silently guided the way of this fire-ship on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/so-seemed-it-to-me-as-i-stood-at-her-helm-and-for-long-hours-silently/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More by Michelle Obama > [It's hard to change adults, and it's hard to change it from a political position or a perceived political position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/it-s-hard-to-change-adults-and-it-s-hard-to-change-it-from-a/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [ The president \[Barack Obama\] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-commitment-of-i-think-100-000/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [You work hard for what you want in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/you-work-hard-for-what-you-want-in-life/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [We must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward my husband,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-must-once-again-come-together-and-stand-together-for-the-man-we/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [We're starting to see, as the economy improves, that the unemployment rate among veterans and military spouses - we're seeing some improvement in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-re-starting-to-see-as-the-economy-improves-that-the-unemployment/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [There's so much going on in the healthcare system that makes it difficult for women to really have a strong economic hold if insurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/there-s-so-much-going-on-in-the-healthcare-system-that-makes-it/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [In the 10 cities with the nation's highest obesity rates, the direct costs connected with obesity and obesity-related diseases are roughly $50 million per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/in-the-10-cities-with-the-nation-s-highest-obesity-rates-the-direct/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/what-i-admire-most-about-hillary-is-that-she-never-buckles-under/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads... Now young people can get insurance for as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/a-lot-of-young-people-think-they-re-invincible-but-the-truth-is-young/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/one-of-the-lessons-that-i-grew-up-with-was-to-always-stay-true-to/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But I am constantly thinking about my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/i-have-never-felt-more-confident-in-myself-more-clear-on-who-i-am-as/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [ We got a commitment that 3 million nurses are going to be trained to better identify these signs \[of PTSD\], because, you know, when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-got-a-commitment-that-3-million-nurses-are-going-to-be-trained-to/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [We're our kids' first and best role models. So the first question is, what are you as a mom or a dad doing every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-re-our-kids-first-and-best-role-models-so-the-first-question-is/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [I've always tried to make sure that what I do really connects with the broader agenda of what my husband is trying to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/i-ve-always-tried-to-make-sure-that-what-i-do-really-connects-with/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all of our sons and daughters;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/i-know-from-experience-that-if-i-truly-want-to-leave-a-better-world/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) [Explore all 504 Michelle Obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) ## More Late quotes > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 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It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wong-kar-wai/love-is-all-a-matter-of-timing-it-s-no-good-meeting-the-right-person/) [Wong Kar-wai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wong-kar-wai/) > [And my experience is the best titles, for me, emerge in the process of writing. They don't usually come at the very beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/and-my-experience-is-the-best-titles-for-me-emerge-in-the-process-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [I relish the time I have when there are no interruptions. 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I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Browse all 5,113 Late quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for being dedicated and ambitious. 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