Mums in Tech - feat. Lucy Mitchell
As part of our ‘Mums in Tech’ series, we caught up with Lucy Mitchell, Head of Client Services at By Association Only.
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’m Lucy and am proud to work at By Association Only as the Head of Client Services. We’re a luxury, design-led eCommerce agency working with some incredible brands on the growth and development of their websites and businesses.
I work across our Commercial and Client Services teams, ensuring that clients receive a warm welcome with consultation and careful guidance regarding their scope and budget when they arrive and a best-in-class continuation of that experience as they work with our production teams.
We have one of the highest merchant retention rates for Shopify Plus agencies in Europe, so maintaining our very high standards is critical to the overall merchant experience and our position in the ecosystem.
If you could sum up what it’s like being a working mum in tech in one sentence, what would it be?
“If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands yes of course we can provide that proposal by the end of the day has she had Calpol in the last six hours has that client received their response on those questions who’s doing nursery pick up I’m so sorry I can’t work today because we all have a bug what’s for dinner?”
Despite the very real juggle of balancing being a working mum, it’s incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to feel successful in both my home and work life. Flexible working and genuine support, both at home and work, allow me to dedicate the time I need to deliver our client work and also have my daughter’s cheesy broccoli pasta on the table by teatime.
“Flexible working and genuine support, both at home and work, allow me to dedicate the time I need to deliver our client work and also have my daughter’s cheesy broccoli pasta on the table by teatime.”
How do you find balance between your career and motherhood?
Honestly, I’m still figuring this out! I’m very lucky to have an incredibly supportive employer who adjusted my hours from 9-5.30 to 9-4 at the end of my first week because I just couldn’t squeeze all my mothering responsibilities in at the end of the day.
The genuine support and care at work help a tremendous amount and knowing that I have that flexibility in my role to finish at 4 pm means I can be focussed entirely on work when I’m online safe in the knowledge that I still have a good few hours of hands-on mum time before my 14-month-old needs to start her bedtime routine.
“I would say that becoming a mother has given me a real sense of perspective which I think I lacked before… This confidence comes from being surrounded by other parents who have a similar balance and juggle on their hands ”
What has been your greatest challenge as a working mother in tech?
One of the things I love the most about the tech world is how quickly things evolve and the constant innovation. However, coming back into that world after 12 months off was incredibly intimidating - in some ways, I felt like I had to start from scratch. I also joined a new company in a new role, so there was a lot of change on all fronts!
What skills have you developed as a mother that have helped your work life?
I would say that becoming a mother has given me a real sense of perspective which I think I lacked before. I’m here to give my responsibilities my all during my working day and I feel really confident in clocking off at the end of that day. This confidence comes from being surrounded by other parents who have a similar balance and juggle on their hands — everyone knows the priorities during the working day are different from the priorities which happen after school or nursery pick-up.
When you were returning to work, what one thing helped you / would have helped you the most?
Returning to work was a real challenge for me as I needed more flexibility than my previous role could provide. Job hunting on maternity leave was quite stressful, but the genuine compassion and support which By Association Only provided was incredible and made the process so much easier for me.
The founders and stakeholders were kind enough to plan our initial meetings around my daughter’s nap schedule and were really supportive of a four-day working week too. I think that was the thing which made me want to join the team here too, it felt like a community of like-minded people all working towards the same goal and that attitude filters from the senior leadership team all the way through the company.
“Finding confidence in my new priorities was a real game-changer for me and made my return to work much easier. Also, connecting with other new mothers in the company and wider industry was lovely and really helped me find my feet and settle back into the routine of work. It’s definitely not easy - but no part of motherhood is! ”
What do you feel should be the top priority for employers who want to support working mothers better?
This is such a tricky question because I think on the whole the eCommerce agency landscape is still quite young so there hasn’t been a huge requirement for agency owners to support women through key fertility and maternal milestones yet purely because of the age of the workforce.
Having said that, it’s a great reason for employers to get ahead of the game and proactively offer enhanced parental policies and show that support from the get-go — rather than responding reactively to pregnancy announcements.
It should go without saying that enhanced leave for both men and women should be the norm, but I think the real key is just providing genuine, human support and compassion. Our generation is so plagued by the assumption that you should be able to do it all but the reality of maintaining career growth alongside being a parent is likely to lead to burnout and failing in one or both areas.
I believe that employers have a responsibility to recognise a shift in priorities once a woman returns from maternity leave but ultimately, the opportunity they have to retain a dedicated team member who knows how to do several things at once, manage and regulate the emotions of those around her, run a household to a budget and show up every day is invaluable.
Any final words of advice for other mothers in the Tech Industry?
Finding confidence in my new priorities was a real game-changer for me and made my return to work much easier. Also, connecting with other new mothers in the company and wider industry was lovely and really helped me find my feet and settle back into the routine of work. It’s definitely not easy - but no part of motherhood is!
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