I keep in mind being in my early 30s and searching across the digital consultancy the place I labored. I noticed one girl on the board and no moms in shopper dealing with, artistic or manufacturing roles. I took a very laborious have a look at my life in London and shortly determined it was fairly not possible to have a household and do the sort of job I did, not to mention a profession on this trade. Â
I used to be not alone; the stats are clear – the Careers After Infants report discovered that 85% of girls go away the full-time workforce inside three years of getting their first little one, and 19% go away work fully as a result of companies aren’t providing the flexibleness wanted. This 100% resonates with me however my story is barely totally different…
I didn’t go away the trade. I made work work for me. Properly ‘us’, as a result of this wasn’t simply all about me, it was my husband, Stuart, too.Â
I began Trendy with Stuart once we had two kids beneath the age of three. Our work sample wasn’t the usual nine-to-five. I used to be working to nursery to do breast feeds in between conferences and Stuart was working with me half time so I might concentrate on supporting shoppers. Evenings have been damaged up by tub and bedtime, adopted by catching up on extra work as soon as the kids had (lastly!) gone to sleep. Like many households, it was loopy. However we did it.
On the time, it made me assume that there have been so many ladies like me: good at their jobs, desirous to excel however struggling to seek out one thing that works round them and their households. Â
I vowed to make sure that as we grew Trendy, we made it a household pleasant organisation and gave moms the chance to come back again to work with flexibility and consideration for household life. And we apply the identical ideas to dads too.
So, I used to be delighted after I found MotherBoard, the brainchild of Sophie Creese. Primarily based domestically in Bristol, I discovered MotherBoard via the B Corp community (for which we’re additionally licensed in) and shortly discovered alignment with guiding ideas at Trendy.
MotherBoard was based in 2021 to drive constructive, actual change for mums working within the UK tech sector and works with organisations to teach, problem and revolutionise the best way corporations assist moms at work.
In April 2023, we signed the MotherBoard constitution to commit to creating actual change at Trendy. I’d wish to assume we’re already doing okay, however there’s all the time room for enchancment and in order we proceed to work on B Corp commitments, MotherBoard can be a key a part of the technique.
Over the approaching months and years, we’ll share what we’re doing to assist drive change round gender equality and inclusivity throughout the know-how sector.
In the event you’re concerned about studying extra, drop me a message on LinkedIn, or take a better have a look at MotherBoard right here.  Â