How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty

Welcome to this bonus and unique episode where as part of the TVNZ documentary “The Motherhood Penalty TBC”, I interview Tāmati Rimene-Sproat. Well, in fact, Tāmati actually interviews me in advance of him becoming a first time dad. We talk about what his expectations are as he looks forward to becoming a dad, what kind of a dad he wants to be and he gets curious about how he might best support...

In this episode of It’s Good To Talk, I chat with Sophie Moskowitz, founder of Imperfect Parents, to unpack what it really means to parent in today’s world, without the pressure to be perfect. Sophie shares how her experience as a mum of three and an early childhood teacher led her to create Imperfect Parents, an inclusive community offering antenatal classes, postnatal groups, and playgroups that...

In this episode, I chat with Jane Wrightson, New Zealand’s Retirement Commissioner, to unpack how motherhood impacts women’s long-term financial security. Jane shares her personal experience of becoming a mother in the 1990s without paid parental leave and highlights how policies like KiwiSaver, superannuation, and workplace flexibility directly shape women’s financial futures. From the gender pay...

In this episode of It’s Good To Talk, I chat with Emily Parks, marketing manager at the Dr. Libby Group and host of the Have It All podcast, about the realities of working parenthood, the messy middle of motherhood, and why honest conversations matter. This candid conversation offers practical insights and gentle encouragement for parents navigating career, kids, and everything in between. If you’...

In this episode, I chat with Stephanie Pow, founder of Crayon, a startup on a mission to reduce financial stress in the moments that matter most. Crayon is best known for creating the New Zealand Parental Leave Register, which brings transparency to over 300 verified parental leave policies nationwide. Stephanie shares the personal journey that inspired her to launch Crayon, and why even with a fi...

How often do dads get real about what’s going on in their heads? In this episode, I sit down with Aidan Kyrke-Smith, founder of Dadventure, to unpack the often-unspoken world of fatherhood, masculinity, and the invisible mental load that dads carry. From late-night worries to guilt around “who has it harder,” Aidan shares insights from years of working with dads who are desperate for deeper conver...

What would our workplaces and homes look like if caregiving was truly valued, shared, and supported? In this thought-provoking episode, I sit down with Joe Consedine and Jess Stuart from Mobilise to unpack the invisible labour of caregiving, the systemic barriers that keep gender norms in place, and the opportunities we have to innovate for equity. From the daily “mental load” of running a househo...

Welcome to. It's Good to Talk. The podcast that equips working parents with the conversations they need to be having. My name's Emma McClain. I'm an executive coach and I work exclusively with working parents. I know for sure that working and having a family is hard. But I think the answer to real long-term sustainable change is talking. So in this podcast, we're gonna shine a light on conversatio...

What are the conversations that truly make a difference for working parents? In this episode of It’s Good to Talk, I turn the tables on Anna Johnstone, executive coach, founder of The Female Career, and host of the podcast of the same name. Anna shares her journey from global corporate roles in Europe to returning home to New Zealand and building a business dedicated to lifting women up in their c...

In this episode, I talk to Victoria Crockford, Project Director of the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness, to shine a light on an issue too often hidden from view: the growing housing insecurity faced by women in Aotearoa New Zealand. Victoria brings her wealth of experience across community housing, advocacy, the arts, and climate action to unpack the complex realities behind women’s homelessn...

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Amanda Sterling, Principal Director, award-winning consultant, and proud mum, to unpack her groundbreaking PhD research to help organisations remove systemic barriers and close gender pay gaps. Amanda combines decades in corporate leadership development and culture change with work that is backed by data, driven by curiosity, and fuelled by a deep commitment to creat...

In this episode, Emma sits down with two of New Zealand’s 2024 Part-Time Power Listers: Emma Thompson and Liz Blythe. Emma is a partner in PWC’s private business team and a chartered accountant with a passion for simplifying finance through technology. She supports privately owned businesses with virtual CFO services, finance function, transformation and general accounting and tax. Emma co-leads P...

In this powerful conversation, I talk to Dr Ellen Joan Ford, who is terrifyingly ambitious about improving the working world for people and for organisations. As a leader, researcher, military veteran, international speaker, TEDx speaker, facilitator, consultant and parent, Ellen draws on her research and practical experiences to drive organisational outcomes by enhancing inclusive leadership capa...

In this powerful conversation, I am joined by Kimberlee Sweeney , certified divorce and co-parenting coach and founder of Degrees of Separation , to unpack how separation and divorce can amplify the motherhood penalty — and what you can do to protect yourself emotionally, legally and financially. Kimberlee shares her expert insight from a decade in the field, explaining how divorce coaching works,...

In this insightful conversation, I am joined by the brilliant Nicole Retter, founder of PAM, Personal Admin Manager, an app built to ease the mental load for overwhelmed parents. We unpack the invisible labour of parenthood and why the default parent trap isn’t just unfair, but completely unsustainable We talk about the emotional toll, the cognitive overload, and the system-wide shift we could mak...

In this powerful conversation, I am joined by the brilliant Rachel Carrell, CEO and Founder of Koru Kids, an innovative childcare provider operating in 10 cities in the UK. Rachel shares the story of how Koru Kids came to be (spoiler: it wasn’t built in 18 months), the brutal reality of childcare systems around the world, and why the motherhood penalty is not a personal budgeting problem, but a st...

We love talking to people who are trying to smash the system and Haylee Killip is one of these people. A business that was born out of the struggle of a corporate career and the juggle of being a parent. And specifically finding childcare that was flexible. She tried everything when she was a new mum and could not find what she needed.  Whether it was an extra pair of hands so she could work...

In this special episode we talk to Katherine Cornish and Vanessa Simons (both from Fisher Funds) about their experiences as single parents. To share their reflections on the motherhood penalty and how they would change the system. To understand the challenges that might be different and what some of the solutions are that help.  Both Katherine and Vanessa become solo parents under different c...

It is not often that you get to talk to an international author and accomplished practitioner in tackling harmful gender norms and promoting positive social change. But in this episode we do as we are talking to Kate Mangino, PhD. Kate is the author of Equal Partners : Improving Gender Equality at Home, which addresses the social norms that underpin household gender inequality - and offers practic...

This is a unique episode where we take a little pulse check on where we are with The Motherhood Penalty with Prue Tyler and Tania Domett. I started this podcast in September 2023 to start conversations about smashing the system that creates the motherhood penalty. In this episode we talk about how far we have come, we talk about who is carrying the light and of course - what they would use their m...

I dedicated my entire second season to Dads as they are a key part of the puzzle when it comes to gender equity. So when I came across some research on Dads that was entitled: “Passenger parenting, role conflict and guilt: the transition to parenthood from new and experienced fathers” - I got very excited.  And that is where Norma Barrett enters - Norma is one of the co-authors of this resear...

This conversation is so good on so many levels. I knew that I had to invite Rachel Paris onto the podcast for several reasons. Firstly because she has recently published her debut novel “See How They Fall” and at its heart, it is a story on what it is to be a mother. On what you would do for your children. It is also a story of the strength of women and how so much of our experience can be unspoke...

In this last episode of season two, we interview Maddock Price. Maddock is a proud dad to two energetic boys with a third child on the way next year. He lives in Avondale, Auckland, with his beautiful wife, Sophie, and works as the Head of Recruitment at Kiwibank. Raised in Te Awamutu, Maddock is proud to whakapapa to Ngāti Rangi, Te Atahaunui a Pāpārangi, and Ngāi Tahu on his mother’s side, and W...

In this episode, we interview Shea Bentley, a father of three children under five. Along with his wife they have leaned into conversations with their employers to ensure they can manage their caregiving responsibilities. Shea was very generous in sharing what works for his family and what his family’s priorities are, including: The power of asking for the hours you need from your employer. Even if...

In this episode, we interview Joe Consedine. Joe is a former Director of Champions for Change with Global Women where he worked with New Zealand’s leading 80 Chief Executives and Board Chairs on scaled Diversity Equity and Inclusion strategies for Aotearoa, New Zealand. Prior to Champions for Change Joe was the New Zealand General Manger for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand where he...