Mums in Tech ft. Chloe Phillips
As part of our ‘Mums in Tech’ series, we caught up with Chloe Phillips, Founder of FlowLed.
The purpose of our 'MotherBoard’ interview series is to highlight incredible working mums within tech, as well as individuals and businesses that are supportive and progressive within their approach to creating more inclusive tech teams for women.
Firstly, can you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your current role?
My name is Chloe Phillips and I’m the founder of FlowLed.
I spent over 10 years working in the tech industry and, while I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredibly supportive leaders, I repeatedly saw the same challenge facing women and mothers: success at work often came at a much higher personal cost.
FlowLed was created to address the gap between how workplaces are designed and how women actually experience work. I help women understand how their energy works, taking into account not just their workload, but also the mental load, emotional load and biological realities that are often invisible in traditional corporate environments.
Through coaching, workshops and organisational partnerships, I help women make more informed decisions about where their energy goes, build sustainable ways of working, and achieve success without constantly feeling like they have to push, prove and override themselves to keep up.
The reality is that many workplace systems were designed around a model that assumes people have very little going on outside of work. For many women, and especially mothers, that’s simply not true. FlowLed exists to help women thrive within their careers without sacrificing themselves, their wellbeing or their lives outside of work in the process.
If you could sum up what it’s like being a working mum in tech in one sentence, what would it be?
Being a working mum in tech is incredibly rewarding and full of opportunity, but it also means constantly balancing competing demands and finding ways to succeed at work while also having something left for yourself or your family at the end of the day.
“Being a working mum in tech is incredibly rewarding and full of opportunity, but it also means constantly balancing competing demands and finding ways to succeed at work while also having something left for yourself or your family at the end of the day.”
How do you find the balance between your career and motherhood?
For me, balance isn’t about splitting my time equally between work and home. It’s about being fully present wherever I am and having the ability to switch off at the end of the day.
The biggest shift has been understanding that balance doesn’t happen by accident. It’s something I have to proactively build into my week. That means creating space between meetings and demands, setting boundaries and sticking to them, prioritising what truly matters, and building recovery into my routine rather than waiting until I’m exhausted.
One thing I talk about a lot through my work is regulation. When we’re constantly operating in a reactive state, it’s much harder to make good decisions or be present with the people around us. Simple practices like walking, breathing, and having clear start and end-of-day routines help me come back to a place of clarity rather than overwhelm.
I’ve also had to let go of perfectionism. As a mother, business owner and professional, there will always be more that could be done. Learning to focus on progress over perfection has probably been one of the most important lessons in helping me balance both career and motherhood.
What has been your greatest challenge as a working mother in tech?
The biggest challenge for me was the guilt.
For much of my career in tech, I worked long hours and in high-pressure environments. My son started childcare from a young age, attended breakfast clubs and after-school clubs, and there were times when I wouldn’t get home until very late. Whilst I was building a successful career, there was often a sense that I wasn’t giving enough to either role.
Alongside that was the pressure I put on myself to keep up. Tech is still a largely male-dominated industry, and for a long time I felt like I had to over-extend and give more. What I’ve learned since is that success doesn’t have to come from constantly pushing. The challenge is learning how to perform at a high level without sacrificing yourself in the process.
What skills have you developed as a mother that have helped your work life?
Motherhood has completely changed how I prioritise my time and energy.
Before becoming a mum, it was much easier to say yes to everything. Now, I’m much more intentional about where my attention goes because I know it’s a finite resource. Motherhood has taught me that there are seasons in life, and sometimes that means making conscious trade-offs, delegating more, asking for support, and letting go of the idea that you have to do everything yourself.
It’s also made me significantly more efficient. Mothers become experts at juggling multiple priorities, making decisions quickly and adapting when things don’t go to plan. Those skills transfer directly into the workplace.
Perhaps the biggest shift, though, has been in how I relate to people. My career has always been built around relationships and partnerships, and becoming a mother gave me a deeper level of empathy and understanding. It helped me become better at reading between the lines, understanding what people really need, and building meaningful relationships rather than focusing solely on outcomes.
Motherhood also has a way of putting things into perspective. In an industry where there can sometimes be a lot of pressure and ego, becoming a parent reminded me what truly matters and helped me make decisions with more confidence and less concern about proving myself.
When you were returning to work, what one thing helped you / would have helped you the most?
Looking back, what would have helped me most was greater understanding and support during the transition back to work.
When I returned from maternity leave, there wasn’t really a transition period. The expectation was that you simply came back and picked up where you left off. There was very little recognition of the fact that becoming a mother changes you physically, mentally and emotionally, whilst also introducing a completely new set of responsibilities outside of work.
At the time, flexibility wasn’t widely accepted and there was often an underlying culture that made mothers feel like they needed to prove their commitment. Even something as simple as leaving on time could be met with comments or assumptions.
I think employers often underestimate how significant the transition into motherhood is. Better support, more flexibility and a deeper understanding of the realities women are navigating during that period would have made a huge difference.
What do you feel should be the top priority for employers who want to support working mothers better?
If employers genuinely want to attract and retain women, particularly mothers, they need to look beyond childcare vouchers and parental leave policies.
The biggest thing many organisations still aren’t getting right is recognising that supporting women isn’t about treating everyone exactly the same. Women are navigating different biological realities, different demands outside of work, and often a greater share of the invisible mental load. Pretending those differences don’t exist doesn’t create equality, it creates additional pressure.
What many women need is greater autonomy, flexibility and trust. The ability to work in a way that allows them to perform at their best without being constrained by rigid structures or unnecessary micromanagement.
However, flexibility alone isn’t enough. I’ve worked with women who have been offered flexible working arrangements but didn’t feel able to use them because the underlying culture suggested they would be judged for it. If someone feels that being offline, leaving on time or working differently will affect how capable or committed they are perceived to be, then flexibility only exists on paper.
For me, the priority is creating cultures where women are trusted to deliver outcomes in a way that works for them. When organisations combine flexibility with genuine trust and understanding, everyone benefits.
Any final words of advice for other mothers in the Tech Industry?
My advice would be to stop assuming that the problem is you.
Many women spend years trying to force themselves to work in ways that simply don't work for them. They push harder, stay online longer, ignore what their body is telling them and assume they just need to become more disciplined or resilient.
What I've learned is that struggling to keep up isn't necessarily a sign that you're doing something wrong. Often, it's a sign that you're trying to operate within systems and expectations that weren't designed with your reality in mind.
If you're constantly exhausted, feeling wired, overwhelmed or like you're wading through mud, there is another way. You don't have to choose between progressing in your career and having energy for your life outside of work.
The more we understand ourselves, our energy and what we need to perform at our best, the more we can create ways of working that support both success and sustainability.
The way we've been taught to work isn't the only way. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is give yourself permission to find a way that works for you.
“The way we've been taught to work isn't the only way. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is give yourself permission to find a way that works for you.”
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