Mums in Tech ft. Joanna Duffy
As part of our ‘Mums in Tech’ series, we caught up with Joanna Duffy, Product Marketing Lead at Birdie.
The purpose of our 'MotherBoard’ content series is to highlight incredible working mums within tech & data, as well as individuals and businesses that are supportive and progressive within their approach to creating more inclusive tech & data teams for women.
Firstly, can you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your current role?
I suppose I’m a bit of a nomad. I’ve worked in content, communications and product marketing roles in tech since finishing my law degree. I’ve worked across six countries and in diverse industries including IoT for agriculture, sustainability, B2B martech, AdTech, telemedicine and social care. I’d like to think I make the argument for transferable skills.
If you could sum up what it’s like being a working mum in tech in one sentence, what would it be?
Knowing you’re unbreakable and more competent than you’ve ever been, but worried that you’re perceived as a burden.
“I work harder, but am equally more resolute about the boundaries I do set. My children have a right to my time, and that time is sacred.”
How do you find the balance between your career and motherhood?
I don’t see it as a balance as much as a continuum. Before becoming a mother, my workaholic tendencies were driven by a combination of ego, insecurity, and a need to prove myself. That’s since been replaced by the motivation of providing for my children, and setting a good example for them. I work harder, but am equally more resolute about the boundaries I do set. My children have a right to my time, and that time is sacred.
What has been your greatest challenge as a working mother in tech?
My experience of motherhood in the workplace has been a complete contradiction: I’ve never felt more confident in my own resilience, capacity to multitask, ability to detach from taking things personally. But the insecurity is real: are my capabilities questioned? Is it really okay when I take a call with my 9 month old in my lap? Am I able to fully assert myself when I feel uncomfortable with my postpartum appearance?
“My patience has expanded exponentially, and my benchmark for stress has recalibrated. I’d like to think I’m more empathetic to others as well”
What skills have you developed as a mother that have helped your work life?
It feels cliche to say, but spending my days being screamed at by two young children that I’d step into traffic for makes it much easier to handle difficult stakeholders. My patience has expanded exponentially, and my benchmark for stress has recalibrated. I’d like to think I’m more empathetic to others as well– the idea that others are balancing complex responsibilities behind the scenes is always at the forefront of my mind when deciding how to interpret behaviour I might be happy with.
When you were returning to work, what one thing helped you / would have helped you the most?
I’ve been blessed to have some incredible influences in my career who really made a point of parenting openly in the workplace. A marketing director at one of the companies I used to work at often let us say hi to his daughter at the start of team meetings, another senior director of product marketing had time for feeding his daughter blocked out in his work calendar.
When I announced my first pregnancy at a former company, I was added to a slack channel for parents: Parents from across the company including VPs, C-levels sharing the humour and stark reality of parenthood from stepping onto a poopy nappy to the best ways to limit screen time. It was a nice reminder that I didn’t have to pretend not to be a real human being. But the most unforgettable was my first intro meeting with the Chief of Staff as a former employer. She introduced herself, then tilted the screen towards her young daughter, introduced her and let me know that I’d likely be seeing her on calls often, and she still required a great deal of her mother’s attention. No apologies, just a confident fact. It made a huge difference to how I felt at work as the mother of a toddler.
In short: openness, visible parenthood and a reminder that there’s no need to apologise for being a mother.
“We might be championing parents in the workplace, but what we’re really championing is the space to be multidimensional human beings in the workplace.”
What do you feel should be the top priority for employers who want to support working mothers better?
Remote work across geographies, flexible schedules, and a culture of acceptance around parenthood.
Any final words of advice for other mothers in the Tech Industry?
Be real about your experiences, because you never know who you’ll make feel more comfortable and accepted. Support other parents, and other carers. I’ve noticed that even when there’s visibility around parenting in workplaces, that same space doesn’t necessarily exist for those colleagues who are caring for ill or disabled family members. But our challenges overlap, and we have a responsibility to advocate for them as well. We might be championing parents in the workplace, but what we’re really championing is the space to be multidimensional human beings in the workplace.
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