Hi Gail, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do, how old are your children and what happens with your kids when you are at work?
I’m Head of Membership Engagement at Women on Boards UK, supporting a fabulous network of (mainly) women to gain and develop in non-executive director roles at all stages of their career.
Run by women for women, it’s a wonderfully flexible employer and I work four days a week. I have three boys, aged nine, six and four. They are at school and pre-school, with a patchwork arrangement of childminder and grandparents for after school care.
1. One word to describe how being a WoMo makes you feel?
Balanced.
2. What’s the funniest experience you have had juggling kids and work?
There’s quite a few to mention! One that jumps to mind is the look on my (young, male) boss’ face when my colleague explained to him why it might not be a good idea to get me to travel from London to Sheffield at 36 weeks pregnant. I just chipped in with “I like you, but I don’t really want you to be my birth partner.” He agreed – effusively!
The other takes me back to my first week back in the office post-maternity leave number one. I had to be tactfully reminded that I was expected not only to close, but also to lock, the toilet door. I’d not peed alone for a year, so it felt quite the culture shock!
3. What is the one piece of advice you could offer another WoMo?
Lower your standards! Not on the important things but be super clear on priorities as a pristine kitchen and home cooked meals rarely combine with an empty inbox and attending every meeting or event you’d like to.
4. What’s the least amount of sleep you’ve gone to work on and how did you cope?
I’ve got early risers, so my challenge was more having been awake for over five hours by 10am and being utterly confused that colleagues were still on coffee and croissants for breakfast!
Coffee is my main solution, combined with sugary snacks when necessary. Though my former Director did once tell me that he called in sick and booked a hotel room to sleep for a whole day after some teething nights. Living the dream!
5. What have you learned about yourself as a WoMo?
That I find marketing much easier than parenting.
6. If you had a working mother’s anthem or mantra, what would it be?
I do put on Candi Stanton from time to time – ‘Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air…’
7. What is your guilty pleasure to combat WoMo guilt the best?
I don’t really get WoMo guilt. I’ve always prescribed to the idea that it’s good for the kids to have different people looking after them. My guilty pleasure is (re)watching all the Friends episodes on Netflix.
8. Would you rather be dealing with a tantrum or presenting in a board meeting?
I’d take the board meeting any day! You can use reasoned arguments to get around most issues. It’s not generally a successful approach with toddlers, in my experience. Plus, no-one has kicked me or peed their pants in a board meeting (that I’ve attended, anyway).
9. If you asked your children what your job is, what would they say?
I just asked my nine-year-old and he said: “Write stuff and send it out to people so they can think about joining Women on Boards”. Spot on, really!
My six-year-old said (whilst playing Minecraft), “I have no idea”, while my four-year-old said (typing motion) “on a computer”.
10. What’s the one thing you wish you’d known before you became a WoMo?
It was Sheryl Sandberg who said we should think of our careers not as a ladder, but a jungle gym. I love this and it’s a good reminder not to stress if you dip down the slide for a while.
11. To date, what has been your best WoMo achievement?
One of the best moves I made was joining a charity trustee board during my first maternity leave. Enormously satisfying and I got senior strategic experience that few organisations would offer someone working part-time (which I wanted to do while I have pre-school kids, at least).
For a lot of women maternity leave is a time to totally switch off from work and career, and that’s totally understandable. However, I happen to speak to many women who want to use their maternity time to upskill or revaluate what they want from their career. Becoming a non-executive director is a brilliant way to do this. It gives you great continuity on your CV across any career breaks and gives you the intellectual challenge that some women seek when their days have been taken over by nappies and feeding schedules!
12. What do you want to teach your kids about working mothers?
I mainly hope that ‘working fathers’ will be a thing by the time they are adults. I’d love to see my boys taking time out or going part-time around their kids.
About Women on Boards UK
Women on Boards UK exists to encourage, inspire and actively support women – from all sectors – to find their own pathway to the boardroom. Its network of 35,000 women (and some men) gain access to information, support and connections to help them take on a board role as a non-executive director, trustee or governor, or to get to the top within their own company. What we do works - seven of our members gain a new board role every week (on average).
Find out more here