Successful Women Credit Mother's Influence
Behind every successful woman may be an inspirational mother.
May 10, 2009— -- Paula Pretlow could justifiably credit her mother with her entire career. A senior vice president of client relations at Capital Guardian Trust Company in San Francisco, Pretlow, an African-American with four siblings, grew up poor in Oklahoma City.
When she was in the eighth grade, her secretary mother, a single parent, decided "to single-handedly desegregate the Oklahoma school system" by enrolling her children in the city's wealthiest school district, says Pretlow. The move set the rest of Pretlow's future in motion: She excelled at the demanding school, made friends and eventually won a scholarship to Northwestern University.
Click here to learn about TV's most memorable moms our partner site, Forbes.com.
There's a saying that behind every successful woman, there's a supportive man. Moms, though, might deserve even more credit for shaping a successful woman's career and family approach. In fact, if women run businesses with more compassion and collaboration than men, according to the women we spoke to, it might have to do with their mothers.
Some of the mothers were no-nonsense and others were warm and affectionate. But no matter the approach to motherhood, their daughters say they are who they are because of their moms.
Pretlow says her mother told her that she and her "smart" siblings could do anything. "'Can't' wasn't in our vocabulary," she quips. Her mother also took time to explain the family's financial situation to her children. "I knew exactly how much money was coming and what the bills were, so that each of us could understand why we had to take turns getting new shoes and new clothes," she explains.
Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran's mom didn't have time for such micromanagement. With 10 kids, she ran her home like a boot camp. To speed morning school preparations, socks were kept in two kitchen drawers--one for girls, one for boys. Corcoran, who became one of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in the country before selling her firm in 2001, credits her harried mother with her success. Corcoran's says her mother managed to find one special trait in each of her children--and nurture it throughout their childhood.
