02 Apr Rethinking Parental Leave: It’s time we start recognizing parental leave as career growth, not career interruption

Becoming a mother changes everything—your routines, your priorities, and even how you see the world. But beyond the sleepless nights and endless to-do lists, it also equips you with new skills, perspectives, and even emotions that make you a stronger leader.

With that in mind, we need to flip the narrative on parental leave.

It’s not “time away” from our careers—it’s time that enables them. Just like any other learning experience, parenthood challenges us, teaches us, and strengthens us in ways that directly benefit our professional lives. The resilience, adaptability, and leadership we develop as parents make us better colleagues, decision-makers, and problem-solvers.

It’s time we start recognizing parental leave as career growth, not career interruption.

So what can we learn from this time? For me, here are a few takeaways that stand out:

🤍 Motherhood has strengthened my ability to juggle competing priorities while staying focused on what truly matters. As a leader, this skill allows me to balance strategic goals with day-to-day challenges, ensuring progress without losing sight of the bigger picture.

🤍 Raising a child requires patience, understanding, and the ability to see things from their perspective. As a leader, this translates into creating a workplace where my team feels valued, supported, and heard—leading with both strength and compassion.

🤍 Parenthood teaches you to expect the unexpected and bounce back quickly from setbacks. As a leader, this resilience helps me navigate change, uncertainty, and challenges with a solutions-focused mindset.

🤍From managing tantrums to making quick decisions that impact my child’s well-being, motherhood has honed my ability to think fast and make confident choices. In leadership, this means I can assess situations effectively and take decisive action when needed.

🤍 Children don’t just listen to what we say—they watch what we do. This has reinforced my belief in leading with integrity, modeling the behaviours I want to see in my team, and fostering a culture of accountability and growth.

Parenthood isn’t just a personal journey—it’s a leadership masterclass.

These examples alone show that time spent raising children isn’t time away from our careers—it’s time that creates better leaders (and employees). It creates leaders with empathy. Leaders with a renewed understanding of work-life balance. Leaders equipped with the skills to achieve results and become better people managers. So when it’s time to welcome these parents back, we should embrace what they bring to the table. In fact, we should prioritize hearing from their experience and exploring how it can improve the workplace.

Whenever someone steps away from an organization or role and returns, there’s a huge learning opportunity. The trick is leveraging this feedback to strengthen your organization instead of losing this insight altogether.

If we take this one step further, when we talk about supporting employees and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion, parenthood needs to be part of that conversation.

Creating a truly inclusive workplace means recognizing the unique challenges parents face and ensuring they have the flexibility, support, and resources to thrive. Family-friendly policies, flexible work arrangements, and a culture that values the leadership skills gained through parenthood aren’t just “nice to have”—they’re essential.

If we want to build workplaces where everyone can succeed, we need to treat parenthood as an asset, not an obstacle.

So, if you’re still reading, I challenge you to think differently about how we support working parents. Let’s move beyond the traditional mindset and start actively embracing the leadership potential parenthood brings. Create spaces for parents to share their experiences, listen to their insights, and implement changes that truly support them. From flexible work arrangements to DEI strategies that include parental support, we have the power to build more inclusive, effective, and empowered teams.

The question is: Will you make the changes needed to support this shift?