There is a peculiar moment in many working mothers’ days when they are discussing something terribly important while thinking about something apparently ridiculous. The strategy. The budget. The client. The PE kit. All four are competing for space in the same brain. We have spent years talking about women doing more at home. But I […]
If someone disappeared from work for a year to complete an executive MBA, we’d roll out the red carpet when they returned. “Tell us what you learned.” “How has it changed the way you think?” “We can’t wait to see what you do next.” Yet when a woman returns from maternity leave, the questions often […]
There is something deeply revealing about the way we talk about exhausted mothers. We talk about them as though they are an unavoidable feature of modern life, like traffic jams or delayed trains. We acknowledge their existence, perhaps even sympathise with them, but rarely stop to question why so many women seem to be carrying […]
For years, workplaces have talked about motherhood as though it were some sort of unfortunate side effect. Like a software update nobody asked for. A talented woman gets promoted, has a baby, and suddenly people start looking at her differently. Will she still be ambitious? Can she still handle pressure? Does she really want that […]
There is something wonderfully ironic happening in the great AI revolution. Just as we have built machines capable of doing an impressive amount of what highly educated humans have spent decades being paid to do, companies are suddenly willing to pay rather handsomely for people who can behave like humans. EY is reportedly making $100 […]
The outcry over footballer Jérémy Doku choosing to leave the Club World Cup for the birth of his child has generated a surprisingly revealing debate. Much of the controversy centred on comments made by French presenter France Pierron, who reportedly described childbirth as “disgusting” and questioned why a player would prioritise being present for the […]
There is a peculiar contradiction at the heart of modern work. Employers proudly announce generous parental leave policies, pose for photographs beside awards celebrating family-friendly workplaces and tell us that people should bring their whole selves to work. Yet the moment someone actually behaves like a parent rather than an employee, something shifts. Quietly. Almost […]
For years we have been fed the same smug little explanations for falling birth rates. Women are too career-focused. Too selfish. Too obsessed with brunch, city breaks, Pilates memberships, and apparently avocado toast. Feminism, we are told, has somehow hypnotised women into rejecting motherhood in favour of oat milk and emotional independence. Convenient theory. Completely […]
The recent report by Gallup Workplace Report presents what it calls a paradox. Leaders, it says, are more likely to be “thriving” than non-leaders. And yet, those same leaders report higher levels of stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness in their day-to-day lives. It is framed as a tension. A contradiction that somehow coexists. I would […]
There is a quiet contradiction sitting at the heart of modern working life, and once you see it, it is difficult to unsee. We place enormous value on formal education as a marker of leadership potential. Degrees, certifications, executive programmes. Among them, the MBA stands as one of the most respected signals of capability. It […]