How do you find the balance between your career and motherhood?
Before I had my first baby I was working full-time. I loved my job, but I was exhausted, so I knew that going back with a baby in tow would mean reducing my hours. At first this felt a bit like a step back, and going back to work post- my first mat leave was hard; I thought I’d forgotten everything, and put way too much pressure on myself to be back to full speed immediately.
With my second baby, I was much kinder to myself and asked to be treated like a new starter, even though I’d been with the business for 4 years. This meant I could take time to refamiliarise myself with the systems and processes we used, and allow myself some grace when things felt difficult. This actually meant I got back into a rhythm more quickly.
I also reduced my hours further to give myself an afternoon when the children were in nursery, to work on my own projects and to do some mentoring – this really helped me to define myself outside of work and motherhood, which had huge mental health benefits.
What has been your greatest challenge as a working mother in tech?
Beyond the usual juggles of childcare and sickness, I think one of the biggest challenges has been advocating for my career development and fair pay. It is all too easy for organisations to assume that if you are a caregiver who works part time, your career and progression are not a priority – but this is absolutely not true for me or most of the working parents I know.
In tech specifically, roles such as Senior Project Manager can be diminished in comparison to senior developer roles which are often much better paid. I think there is a sense that developers are more difficult to replace, but a really good PM who understands not just the technology, but the strategy and commercial background behind it, is equally valuable.