New Delhi: The term ‘supermom’ is much-derided for glorifying unrealistic expectations. But even as the trope of the multi-armed mother-goddess juggling dosa, baby, and laptop goes out of fashion, a recent study of urban Indian working mothers shows that some women embrace the concept as a “source of strength”.
A survey of 305 earning mothers in India found a near-even split in the perception of the supermom notion. Fifty-one per cent of the respondents said they found the term empowering, while the remaining 49 per cent indicated that it was an exhausting trap. The study, “Unmasking the notion of ‘Supermom’ in India: success and strain amongst earning mothers”, was published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, a peer-reviewed journal in the Nature portfolio, earlier this year. The research was conducted by Shalaka Sharad Shah, Poonam Gandhi, Shilpa Shinde, and Smita Chaudhry of FLAME University.
“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”, the study said.
In this milieu, the researchers set out to understand how working mothers themselves relate to the supermom idea — rather than how it is framed in theory or popular culture — and how it shapes their sense of success at work and in their personal lives. The researchers also outlined the practical implications of the study’s findings.
Shinde, an assistant professor in Human Resources at FLAME University, told ThePrint that the outcome of the survey was unexpected for the researchers.
“Intuitively, it did not make sense to us. It was rather surprising that a large number of respondents viewed the notion as positive. We personally felt that the idea of the supermom created an unnecessary burden. Women already have to face so many challenges,” she said.
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How the study was conducted
The researchers, who are all working mothers themselves, collected data from earning mothers in urban areas across the country. The research combined quantitative and qualitative methods, with multiple sets of questions to assess how respondents related to the ‘supermom’ idea.
The quantitative survey, conducted through Google Forms, included open-ended questions such as ‘Who is a supermom to you?’ and ‘Is being a supermom beneficial or is it a trap?’
“Supermom is a notion that has western roots, which was then popularised here. For our survey we deliberately chose urban women, who are familiar with the concept,” said Shinde.
The average age of the earning mothers surveyed was between 41 and 45 years, with about half holding a postgraduate degree. Around 94 per cent were married, 4.6 per cent were divorced or separated, and only 1 per cent were single or unmarried. Nearly 90 per cent of the respondents worked in the private sector. On average, they reported 43 working hours per week spread over 5.56 working days.
Shinde said the idea for the study took shape around two years ago, driven by curiosity about the hype around the ‘supermom’ label.
“We are a team of a human resource professor, a psychologist, and a sociologist. We wanted to explore what women actually think of the concept of supermom, even though most academic literature treats it as a source of burden and unrealistic expectations,” Shinde said.
Different meanings of ‘supermom’
Shinde noted that women who perceived the supermom notion positively tended to feel more competent and psychologically fulfilled at work.
The researchers organised the qualitative data into five categories: psychological resources, super competence, super mothers, super balance, and super taxing. These categories capture how mothers described and interpreted the supermom idea as relating to themselves.
‘Super balance’ stood out as the most prominent category, highlighting the effort to juggle work, home, personal life, and social obligations. ‘Super competence’ followed, with mothers emphasising multitasking, parenting skills, and problem-solving.
Of the remaining categories, ‘psychological resources’ reflected positive emotions and attitudes linked to confidence and self-belief. At the other end, the ‘super taxing’ category captured the idea of ‘supermom’ as a myth or trap that adds pressure. The least responses fell into the ‘super mothers’ category, which grouped responses that equated being a supermom with motherhood in general, regardless of being engaged in paid work.
The contrasts came through in the personal accounts reproduced in the paper.
A full-time English teacher and mother of three described the supermom idea as beneficial: “A supermom manages everything like the house, family, children’s studies, and her career, trying to manage things with others’ help, like our elders or helpers, etc. It is beneficial as the more you get involved, the more you explore your life – personally or professionally.”
But a medical activity manager and mother of two was vehement in her distaste of the term: “It’s just a societal trap… a definition like “supermom” makes one think that it is some kind of competition.”
The researchers suggested that this diversity in attitudes indicates that motherhood is a fluid concept among Indian women.
“Parenting is understood not simply as a natural process but as a social phenomenon shaped by cultural norms,” said the paper.
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What are the practical implications?
The researchers said the ‘supermom’ idea affects everyday choices — how working mothers cope with stress, look for support, and measure success at home and at work.
It points to the importance of stronger social support, from family and friends to formal workplace systems, to ease the psychological strain of balancing paid work and caregiving. The researchers also call for policy measures that go beyond maternity leave to support mothers’ career growth.
In addition, the researchers urged the media to “showcase different perspectives of earning mothers on the ‘supermom’ notion” through advertisements, TV shows, and films in order to do justice to the varied ways it is perceived.
“Our findings highlight the complexity of the supermom notion, and suggest that it may be shaped by individual circumstances and personal beliefs. Future research can further explore how these perceptions influence mothers’ personal and professional lives,” the research concluded.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)