318: Blended – Parenthood vs a Career: The Ultimate Catch 22

Introductions to our Blended panelists. Margo – aka CargoMargo and Director of Sales at NFI Jonathan – CEO of Shipz and host of Let’s Talk Supply Chain AsiaPac Caralynn – Marketing and Content Team Lead at AuditMiner Jason – Brand Director at Supply Chain and Green Lisa – Supply Chain Manager “The best views are from the highest climbs.” Margo

The group shares their personal experiences of parenthood – the ups, downs and in-betweens – and how they relate to the workplace. Caralynn’s experience as an only child with a successful working mother Jason’s experience as a busy working father Fear of missing out Pride in seeing your children grow, and seeing their goals met and achievements reached Special moments missed due to work Mom/Dad guilt How technology can help Lisa’s experience of re-entering the workplace, and now helping other women do the same Gender pay gap Men as allies Influencing your own children to make the impact we need to see in the future Jonathan’s experience as a founder and father of four Feelings of anger, resentment and being trapped within the workplace Finding the balance As a father, not being consumed by responsibility and providing for the family Better accommodating mothers and their needs in the workplace Margo’s experience of mothers wearing negative experiences as a badge of honor Length of maternity leave Expense of childcare Work expectations placed on women during maternity leave or even labor “You can only do what you can do… but technology has been a great thing – if I’m missing one of my son’s games, I get to watch it on my mobile device.” Jason

The panel discusses maternity, paternity and grievance leave, and how the different lengths of time offered impact parents. Men ridiculing other men for taking leave, “man up” Expectations of the next generation Policy and government Being intentional with where you work, finding the right culture Advocating for change Assumptions about mothers Other paths to parenthood, eg surrogacy, adoption, step-parents Treating people as individuals Setting boundaries How your upbringing impacts your approach to work Fear Supporting partners after birth, not just the children “There’s a focus on productivity over parenting.” Jason

.01] The group discusses the many and varied transferrable skills that parents can translate from the home to the workplace, and what employers can do better to help parents thrive in the workplace. Putting thorough plans in place Employer training programs Workplace culture Transferable skills Flexibility Shame Personal transparency Bringing who you are to professional spaces like LinkedIn Honesty and authenticity “If parents have access to childcare and other benefits, their productivity goes up massively and everyone benefits significantly, but there’s a huge degree of a lack of creativity by employers to engage their people – because we don’t value people.” Jonathan

.16] The panel sum-up their thoughts from today’s discussion. “Times are changing and let’s utilize that change as leverage to have more comfortable lives and be healthier human beings.” Margo