Only a generation ago, most Mediterranean women were stay-at-home mothers and wives. They were completely dependent on their husbands and fathers for financial stability. In an ideal setting, these mothers/wives would be respected and adored by their husbands and children. But since that is not always the case when there is a parity of power, last generation’s mothers often times push their daughters to have a career and be self sufficient. Interestingly, the most successful women I witnessed were those who recognized careers, money and wealth were a means to an end. They cultivated a technical trade and started a business that would enable them to set their own hours, their own wages in the marketplace. Yet, all the while, they maintain their relationships with their children, their friends, their family and their community.
