Emma Mclean: Making Space for Dads

How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty

Kia ora koutou, welcome back to Season Two of How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty. In this season we are turning the spotlight onto Working Fathers. Even though they may not personally pay “the motherhood penalty” they make tough sacrifices, and they face real challenges in the juggle of career and family. In this season I will get curious about the challenges they face, the support they lean on and the opportunity for system change that will create space for dads to show up in the way they want to – at home and at work.

I was inspired to make this season all about working fathers after watching a 2024 International Men’s Day panel event. The event was streamed from London and was organised by the King’s College Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. Listening to the fathers talking on the panel and in particular listening to Marvyn Harrison, I learnt a lot. I got a peek into what it was like to be a working father and how at home they may feel that their role in the family is to give everything to work. I wanted to understand more about working fathers, more about the pressures they feel and more about how they might be able to show up as the Dad they want to be. The link to the event is below if you would like to watch it.

As one of my clients so articulately said to me “it is like women have got the memo they can break into the boardroom, but men have not got the memo they can break into the home”. If men can step into their power at home, I believe that there are only positives – better mental health outcomes, better relationships and a richer life. I hope you enjoy this season and as always I welcome your feedback.

Resources Discussed

• The 2024 NZ Part Time Power List https://www.worksforeveryone.co.nz/part-time-power-list
• Dads making a difference: involved fatherhood and gender equality. Global Institute for Women’s Leadership – 2023 International Men’s Day panel event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS_ULfjy4mI&t=356s

Connect with Emma

This podcast was funded by Works for Everyone, a business based in NZ and operating globally that supports working parents to stay in the leadership pipeline through coaching, workshops, and keynote speaking.

Your host, Emma Mclean, is a mother of three teenagers, an Executive Coach and the Founder of Works for Everyone. Following a successful 25-year career in corporate marketing, Emma launched her business in 2019 to put a care wrap around working parents at the hardest time in their career. She launched the NZ Part Time Power List in 2024 as she wanted to shine a light on individuals that are building their career through part time roles, rather than side stepping it. She is alumni of the 2021 NZ Leadership Programme and a proud Swiftie (a lifelong Taylor Swift fan).