In today’s economy, women no longer need to choose just one or the other.

Despite all the advances in women’s rights, modern society still puts women under increasing pressure to choose between building a career and staying home to take care of the household. But contrary to what extreme feminists and traditionalists alike would have women believe, this choice need not be made.

When I was a child, my mother chose to remain home with me until I started school. Thereafter, she bounced between staying in the home and working at family businesses. She helped my grandmother run her shop, helped my aunt to run her restaurant, and helped my uncle run his gas station.

By the time I turned nine, my mom had opened her own business in the flat beneath ours. Somehow she managed to not just run the store on her own, but make dinner, clean the…