#WomensMonth: Are you using the lessons of motherhood to boost your career?

Founder of KD Strategies, Kalnisha Singh

Becoming a mother was the ultimate game-changer for me. Before the birth of my first son, I was only working to serve my own needs and ambitions. Once Daneel arrived, my focus changed. Not only was I working to serve my new tribe, but I also wanted to change the world for the better— for my child and all the children like him.

Motherhood motivated me, and I wanted to use this motivation to better my career. After my maternity leave ended, I was primed for improved productivity and efficiency to chase my new-found purpose. I had also received a hands-on course in efficient time-management, thanks to my new-born baby.

Motherhood motivated me

I’m not saying that balancing a career and raising children are without its challenges. In fact, research shows that motherhood has become even more demanding, as parents feel increased pressure to perform at home and at work. My personal journey simply showed me that I, and many other women, are stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

Despite being in a constant state of sleep-deprivation, I also felt more driven, more ambitious, and had a renewed sense of purpose. From a business and economic perspective, we are, essentially, raising the world’s next generation of the labour force, while being the ultimate role models of economic productivity. Not only is this an admirable task, but a big responsibility. This is why I believe it is important that we receive the credit due (and corresponding compensation) for role-modelling work ethic and intergenerational economy-wide succession-plans we, as mothers, are implementing.

In turn, we are also raising the next generation of customers; teaching them how to judge and value producers. As working women, it should be acknowledged that we are contributing to future sales (production) and, on a more global scale, the world’s GDP.

From short to long-term views

For these reasons, I believe that pay disparity is a symptom of the short-termism that has been plaguing economies since the industrial revolution. If companies, industries, and economies elected to take a long-term view and chose to optimise systems based on long-term systemic sustainability, the role of working women—and especially working mothers—as the essential bridge between the short-term and the long-term, an important shift can occur in the working environment and the economy.