Unmasking the notion of ‘Supermom’ in India: success and strain amongst earning mothers

Earning mothers worldwide constantly juggle the delicate balance between their professional and personal lives. For Indian women, this challenge is amplified by a unique socio-cultural landscape that reveres and restricts them. In India, women are revered as Shakti, embodying strength and resilience, and are expected to seamlessly excel in multiple roles, especially as mothers, a status held in the highest regard. This expectation aligns with the supermom notion, which assumes that women must possess extraordinary abilities to thrive in every aspect of life. While some research discusses the supermom notion from the above standpoint, there is a lack of research examining how mothers interpret and relate to it. This study aims to fill that gap by examining how earning mothers in India perceive the concept and its role in shaping their sense of success in both personal and professional spheres. A content analysis of responses from 305 earning mothers was conducted using symbolic interactionism as a framework, revealing a near-even split. At the same time, some viewed the supermom notion as a source of strength; others saw it as a heavy burden. Moreover, their perspectives often diverged significantly from the conventional definition, indicating how lived experiences may shape their understanding. By adopting a psycho-social lens, the paper explores these contrasting perspectives to reveal the broader impact of the supermom notion on earning mothers, offering a more profound insight into its perceived role in their personal and professional lives. Ultimately, the paper presents the psychological and practical implications of the findings.