This week, our guest is Charlotte Ward, the Chief People Officer for Kiwibank. I reached out to Charlotte when I saw that they had created a part time role for one of their senior leaders when they returned from parental leave. Creating senior roles that can be completed in part time hours is one of the ways we will smash the motherhood penalty. This is how we can continue to build our careers instead of side stepping it. Charlotte very generously shares her story, shines a light on how her family works, and provides observations from her career on how we can re-imagine the workplace so that it works for everyone. 

It is a conversation that I feel lucky to have had and not only because we laughed a lot but because we discussed ideas that included:

• The importance of conversations at home about how caregiving will happen in your family.
• How gender norms start early – even with how dances are taught in primary schools. 
• “Workplaces are built for Don Drapers” and more goodness from Michelle King’s book “The Fix”.
• Whether our definitions of success need to be updated. 
• The stories that women can tell ourselves that by themselves almost penalise us.
• Why we need to question the way the workplace works – and to put a focus on outcomes not time spent at a desk.
• Creating a culture where you feel like you can ask questions.
• Policies alone may not be effective – you need a culture that enables and normalises them.
• Recognising the challenges for managers and people leaders. They need support and need to be equipped to have good conversations. 

Resources Discussed

“The Fix” by Michelle Collins

Connect with Emma

This podcast was funded by Works for Everyone, a business based in NZ and operating globally that supports working parents to stay in the leadership pipeline through coaching, workshops, and advocacy.  

Your host, Emma Mclean, is a mother of three teenagers, an Executive Coach and the Founder of Works for Everyone. Following a successful 25-year career in corporate marketing, Emma launched her business in 2019 to put a care wrap around working parents at the hardest time in their career. She is an Executive Coach,  the recipient of the 2022 Jaguar/Viva She Sets the Pace Community Grant, alumni of the 2021 NZ Leadership Programme, and a Swiftie (a lifelong Taylor Swift fan). 

To work with Emma or enquire about speaking – emma@worksforeveryone.co.nz 

www.worksforeveryone.co.nz

https://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/