Over the last few years, the conversation amongst my peers has moved from weaning and routines, to schools and clubs and now there is much talk on reentering the workplace. No longer needed all day at home by a dependent and not sleep deprived from little Timmy waking up every two hours, we have some time to ourselves. Once we have done the morning coffees, lunched at The Ivy Chelsea and perfected our dinner party format (all tongue in cheek obviously…) many of us want to get our brain back into gear (perhaps earn a bit of money!) and go back to work.
But how?
How can we work in an enjoyable, flexible and rewarding job and be a visible hands on parent at the same time? Having been independent from a boss for so many years, who wants to work in a stiff inflexible office, with a manager who disapproves of you arriving a bit late so you can watch your youngest in their nativity or leave early on a Friday to watch your oldest in their first sports match!
We want it all, but can we really have it all?
Anette Beelaerts van Blokland founded Mothers & Careers Ltd last year, for this very reason.
After having worked for more than 10 years in the City, she went on maternity leave to have her son, who is now 18 months. Anette discovered that it is difficult for new mothers to find useful and relevant information on how to juggle careers and family life when the time comes to go back to work.
Mothers & Careers is a job site and job board specialising in flexible full-time and part-time jobs for ambitious, career-driven women. It is open to anyone to search and apply for jobs, however the website is aimed at mothers who are struggling to juggle family life and careers.
We would like to help mothers get the life-balance they are looking for, whether that is a full-time job with flexible working hours or location, a role working from home, a part-time job or a job share role. We are also trying to encourage women who are looking to get back to work after maternity leave or an extended career break to try a Returners Programme.
Our job seekers are ambitious, well-educated women with impressive career backgrounds in financial services, banking, management consulting, auditing, legal professions, creative industries and technology startups. They are looking for work that pays well, is challenging and interesting, in a work-environment that supports work-life balance and family life.
We also provide inspirational views and stories, news about maternity leave, flexible working regulation, your rights at work during pregnancy and anything else that is useful to pregnant women and new mothers.
They work with leading businesses and growing startups that value gender diversity and that have excellent work-life policies. The jobs they advertise are either full-time jobs with flexible hours or location (or working from home one or two days), or they are flexible part-time jobs, job share roles and anything in-between.
They currently promote flexible jobs from –
- Deloitte
- Boodle Hatfield
- Skimlinks
- UnderTheDoormat
- YourActingCFO
- Kin Learning
They have vacancies for –
- Lawyers
- Commercial consultants
- IT engineers
- Office managers
- Merchant account managers
- Accountants
- Tax specialists
- Compliance managers
- HR directors
- Surveyors
- Teachers
The job vacancy list changes every month, and they get new employers signing up every month too so contact Anette to hear of the latest jobs that could suit you!
What a fantastic website!!
Anette’s Favourite
Restaurant : Giraffe on Holland Park Avenue. The service is fantastic, they don’t mind messy toddlers and the menu is just perfect for busy, hungry parents (and children). They also have great all-day opening hours, so you can go there for an early family dinner at 5pm.
Hotel : The Horn of Plenty in Tavistock, Devon. Our son was only 7 months old at the time,
but they were so helpful and kind. The rooms were large and with everything you needed. The place is surrounded by stunning country views, so peaceful and relaxing.
Shop : Lindex – a Swedish brand. They have really lovely baby clothes, affordable but very good quality. Their online shop also sells maternity wear.
Website : MyDomaine This American Lifestyle website sells everything from design, travel, food, to career advice and more.
Holiday destination : Hovden in Aust-Agder, Trysil and Geilo are in Norway are great family friendly ski resorts. La Baule in Brittany on the west coast of France for a lovely family summer holiday!
Parenting tip :
We have an active little toddler who wants to run around as much as possible, so we
try to make use of London’s parks. Our local favourite is Holland park, they have a great playground for Under 3’s.
Click here to Subscribe to Mothers and Careers newsletter and here to visit Mothers and Careers
No Comments