Mar 22 2023 30 mins
If you are a working mother, calling the past few years “demanding” is the understatement of the century. Even in this “post-COVID” era, women leaders left their companies at the highest rates ever and the gap between women and men quitting senior roles became bigger than ever.
As a working mom today, you’ve probably had to stay home more than once because your child is sick and you have no one else to care for them. You’re of course not alone. 45 percent of mothers with children aged five and under left the workforce entirely during COVID because they had no one to look after their kids, compared to just 14 percent of fathers.
But for many of us, our working lives form a major part of our identity. We want to be able to have meaningful careers and enjoy the satisfaction of participating in something bigger than ourselves. Work matters and but our families do too. So that’s what we are going to talk about today. How can we embrace both work and motherhood, find the flexibility to excel at both jobs, and have confident conversations about what we need to set ourselves up for success? Let’s find out.
With us today is Madeline Schwarz, a communication coach who helps quiet leaders speak up at work. What started as a career in window displays developed into a business about communication. As a window display designer, she learned how to get a message across in seconds. As a book publicist, she crafted stories that grabbed attention. Now she helps other people capture their audience's attention. Madeline has worked with founders to Fortune 500s and when she's not dreaming up ways to make communication more fun, you can find her visiting art museums and building cardboard forts with her son. Connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
From mental health and managing relationships to raising changemakers and advocating for support, freemom is a podcast dedicated to ensuring that every mom feels heard. You can find us on the gram at @freemomcast or on the web at www.freemomcast.com. You can also support the show and help fund production with a sweet little five-dollar donation right here. Thanks for listening!