Why Great Policies Still Leave Working Parents Behind, with Emily Gallagher of Mother Brand
Economists call it the “mom-cession,” but the story of parents pulling back from work is bigger and more complicated than that label suggests. In this episode of Carrying Care, MaK talks with Emily Gallagher, founder of Mother Brand, about what’s actually happening inside workplaces. She traces it from her own return to work, eight weeks after a C-section, to a freezing server room and a cardboard box for a chair.
Emily spent years in corporate PR and marketing before taking a career pause with no plan. Coaching mothers one-on-one showed her how much parenting advice centers on the child and how little centers on the mother as a person. Today she works inside companies, running 10-minute “surgery” check-ins that give parents a moment to be heard and give employers anonymous, honest data about what isn’t working.
Together, MaK and Emily dig into why many mothers love their jobs, how parenthood sharpens skills like negotiation and prioritization, and why so many parents will pay for a baby’s chiropractor but never for an hour of their own support. They also look at why culture and everyday manager behavior matter more than any written policy, where the return from leave tends to break down, and what dads, single parents, and the sandwich generation need that rarely gets offered. Emily closes with practical first steps for individuals, managers, and employee resource groups.
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