70.COMEBACK – Cecily Motley – VC-backed entrepreneur maternity leave – regretting not switching off on maternity leave – encouraging men to take SPL

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Cecily Motley, an accomplished entrepreneur with a proven track record of growing companies and brand building in competitive markets. She is the founder of JustParent, a new company working to close the gender pay gap by helping small companies offer more paid parental leave.

Previously, Cecily co-founded Motley London, a VC backed, direct-to-consumer brand making world class design affordable. Whilst she was there she was both the pregnant employee and the CEO trying to put good parental leave provision in place. Which led her to her next venture. She lives in London with her husband and two year old son.

You’re going to hear about:

• Putting yourself under stress at work before you give birth
• Worrying about what people will think of your commitment as you become a parent
• What it’s like to be a venture capital backed entrepreneur
• Why it’s good to define your leave period and stick to it 
• Not finding your tribe on maternity leave
• The positive power of a partner who takes shared parental leave
• What Cecily hopes her new venture, JustParent, will do for the take-up of Shared Parental Leave among men who work in SMEs
• And as always the wobbliest moment and peak moment of my guest’s return to work experience.

REFERENCES FLAGGED IN THE EPISODE

• If employers really want to increase the uptake of men taking Shared Parental Leave, here’s how: https://www.talentkeepers.co.uk/employers-fathers-taking-spl/
• The single best thing you can do for mothers in your organisation right now: https://www.talentkeepers.co.uk/the-single-best-thing-you-can-do-for-mothers-in-your-organisation-right-now/ 
• What do business leaders think about SPL: https://www.talentkeepers.co.uk/business-leaders-shared-parental-leave/
• Expectant fathers at work: https://www.talentkeepers.co.uk/breakingthebias-iwd2022/

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