Miracle Working Mums

In this first anniversary episode of the Miracle Working Mums podcast I reflect on the 31 episodes I have presented so far and highlight some of the key themes and lessons learned. These themes include the resilience of working mums, the importance of support and understanding in the workplace, overcoming organisational and societal barriers, the need for representation and leadership, creating su...

Emily Dent, a partner in the innovation and transformation consultancy &Us, shares her journey of balancing career and family. She emphasizes the importance of building a supportive community and acknowledges the challenges faced by women in male-dominated industries. Emily discusses the pressure to have it all and the need to redefine societal expectations. She also highlights the physical an...

In this conversation, I talk to Jesse Conflon, co-founder at Yay Startup Marketing, about her journey as a parent and entrepreneur. We discuss topics such as career expectations, challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community in parenthood, fertility treatment, and work-life balance. Jesse shares her experiences of running her own business while planning for parenthood and the importance of having a s...

In this episode I talk to tech founder and CEO of XigXag, Kelli Fairbrother. Kelli is a force of nature; her trailblazing personality, passion and intelligence just burst out of this episode and it was really fun to record. Kelli shares her journey from her ambitions as a young adult to her experiences in the army and at McKinsey. She discusses the challenges and expectations of motherhood and the...

In this episode Helen Cammack shares her fascinating story, which synthesises her Oxford PPE intelligence, corporate experience and adoption experience to create the Preparental financial modelling tool. Its one of those things that, when you hear about it you can't believe it doesn't already exist.   https://www.preparental.com/   Takeaways Having open and honest conversations with your partner a...

In this episode of the Miracle Working Mums podcast I chat to Lucy Heavens about whether there is ever a 'right time' to have kids and the differences she experienced of being a teen mum versus a mum a second time twelve years later. Lucy is VP of Marketing at Salv and a mother of two. She discusses the support she received from a young mums group and the importance of inclusion. Lucy also talks a...

Helena Rivers, Net Zero Leader at AECOM for Europe and India, discusses her career as an engineer and the challenges of balancing work and family life. She shares her experiences of being a woman in a male-dominated industry and the barriers women face in engineering. Helena also talks about the importance of support and attitudes in the workplace, as well as the impact of career choices on family...

Nicky Lowe, an executive coach and founder of Luminate Group and Wisdom for Working Mums, shares her journey of balancing career and motherhood. She discusses her early career expectations and the challenges she faced in the corporate world. Nicky also talks about the lack of role models and support for working mothers in her industry. She shares her experience of dealing with adrenal fatigue and...

In this episode, Tony Darwall, a compliance consultant and Head of London Markets at ICS, shares his experience as a father and how he balances his career and family life. He discusses his career progression in the insurance industry and how he unexpectedly became a dad at the age of 30. Tony emphasizes the importance of being involved in parenting and breaking down gender stereotypes (Tony was th...

In this conversation, Fiona, a Managing Director and Independent Non-Executive Director, discusses her experience as a working mother. She shares insights into her career path, the importance of role models, and the challenges of balancing work and family life. Fiona also reflects on attitudes towards pregnant women in the workplace and the changing role of fathers. She highlights the need for fle...

Today I share the story of Louise Cornish, who is the mum of two young boys and a fitness coach specialising in postpartum fitness. Louise studied Economics at Oxford and dabbled with career options in investment banking, where even as an intern she experienced some of the misogyny which is often associated with the industry. Louise has a really interesting career journey which combines her streng...

This week I talk to Minke Van Til who works for an all-female charity, Ella's. Minke and the team at Ellas work with traumatised and marginalised survivors of trafficking and exploitation, as well as their dependent children. Many of the women have been abused from a young age. Nearly half are refugees or asylum seekers. Most have complex mental health needs. They face many barriers to accessing t...

This week we hear the second half of Jane Carmichael’s story. The family is living within the wire on a closed-down base when she finds another opportunity to use her words for good. Jane experiences working remotely pre-pandemic, before the now well-trodden path of agile working was a thing, and it was very hard! Jane also sends her girls to boarding school, which is a great privilege but also a...

This podcast features Jane Carmichael, who is a powerful storyteller with a vocation to use words for good. She is a writer from within her bones and this surfaces at every opportunity in her life. Jane's career has many twists and turns due to being an "army wife" and regularly having to relocate, but she always finds another opportunity to use words for good. This episode was over an hour and a...

Today I talk to Laura Harvey, a director at the Davies Group. Laura joined the Davies group aged 18 with no clear direction, apart from one day wanting to have a family. Despite this, she rose through the ranks and also met her husband within the same organisation. Laura and her husband had planned to become birth parents but this was not to be for them and in 2021 they adopted a pair of siblings...

This week I speak to Vona Aghoghovbia-Ezichi, Managing Director, Head of Finance Europe & APAC at Nuveen, an Asset Management firm. Vona is a force, taking control of her own future with her three-yearly life check-ins, but finding out that when it comes to becoming a mum, there are some things you can't control. Vona tells me that when she saw someone who looked like her doing what she wanted...

In this episode I talk to Reverend Rebecca Amoroso, whose mother, Bianca, arrived in England at Tilbury Docks from Trinidad in order to embark on a career as a nurse in the NHS. Rebecca became a mum to her son in-between finishing her A-levels and going to university, which was younger than most of her friends but became another wonderful opportunity in her life. Rebecca identifies the lack of aff...

Today I am talking to Lyle Steffenson, who grew up in Apartheid South Africa before moving to Australia. Lyle is a mum of four in a blended family, but until a few years ago was raising her children by herself. As a single mum, Lyle still managed to carve out a career for herself in insurance, protecting some of the most vulnerable people in her community. Her story is very moving and you just nee...

This week I speak to Eleshia Harris about her personal wellbeing journey and how the stress of her role in investment banking was preventing her from conceiving. In fact we talk a lot about how stress impacts women's bodies in general, and how we can harness our hormonal cycles to our best advantage.  We also celebrate Black History Month which, in the UK, is celebrated throughout October. This ye...

Gemma Livermore and her partner Claire co-parent six children in their blended family. Gemma is the International FS Marketing Lead for a sales enablement software company called Seismic, and the Founder of the Women of FinTech network. At heart she is an anthropologist who loves people's stories and connecting dots, so no wonder the universe brought us together! She has a fascinating story so lis...

Not everyone is ready to have a baby when their bodies are in peak-fertility mode. Increasingly women are deciding to have their eggs-frozen, to buy themselves time to be ready to have a family, as female bodies' fertility diminishes at a younger age than male bodies. But this is a costly process, not just financially, although it does cost in the region of £10k for the collection and storage, but...

This week I talk to Catherine Williamson about how people make all the difference when it comes to positive and challenging work situations. Catherine has always been driven by the desire to be financially self-sufficient. She has always wanted to provide for herself, motivated by seeing women with limited financial literacy and perceiving them to be economically vulnerable and not wanting that fo...

Today I speak to Susan Andrew, an Australian lawyer working in a senior operations role within the Lloyd's insurance market. Susan was successful in being promoted into a more senior role in the days before her maternity leave started. Susan is candid about how she made the difficult decision to stop trying for a baby in order to pursue a new role at a new organisation. Susan works hard and her ki...

This week I speak to Debbie Danon, leadership coach, facilitator and the founder of Rebel Leadership. Debbie is also building a women’s community called COVN Collective, online and in person. Debbie talks about how her early life experience in the theater and as a youth leader has shaped her vocation and purpose in life.  She shares her experience being bisexual, of baby loss, and of the terminati...

This week I am talking to Randi Tangney, an Employment attorney in the USA. Randi talks about becoming a mum and role model to three incredible girls whilst also trying to resolve the physical and mental demands of breastfeeding, no sleep, pumping and fitting a baby into a trial schedule. Randi also shares the additional barriers women in the US face to having a family and a career when she descri...