I saw a LinkedIn post recently (I lost the link, unfortunately) about a job applicant who had written, boldly highlighted on her résumé: (NO CHILDREN).
For those who don’t know me, I’m a mom to a 9-year-old girl. That catches people off guard, because apparently I’m ‘too young’ to be a mom.
This is my daughter, Maria Eduarda 💕:
For a long time, I blamed myself for becoming a mom so young, for not following the timeline that seems “correct” for most people:
study ➜ graduate ➜ work ➜ get married ➜ save money ➜ have kids
I also felt bad for not having the same technical experience as many of my friends. The truth is, while they were in college or doing a master’s degree, I was learning how to be a mom, learning how to keep a child alive, while being pretty much a child myself.
But what does that say about me professionally?
When we become mothers, life doesn’t stop for us to figure out motherhood, life goes on, it happens in parallel with it. While I was learning to be a mom, I was also a student, a woman switching careers, moving to a different state in search of better opportunities for me and my daughter. I found support in the local PyLadies community. I was looking for something anything that would prove to me I was capable of working outside the home, not just inside it.
Today, I’m a mom who works, studies, trains, helps her daughter with schoolwork, contributes to the Python community, cooks, speaks at events, travels for work, and keeps the house running (more or less) through all of it.
Okay, but… what does that have to do with my professional profile?
I’m a professional with excellent time management and a focus on productivity someone who knows how to prioritize what matters, stay organized, and never stop learning. I’m someone who graduated with a kid running around the house, who can communicate clearly, and who, even with some insecurities, knows how to reinvent herself when needed. When I need to study something deeply, I create a talk and submit it to events. That’s how I learn and share.
I’m not Wonder Woman. I’m not good at everything. I’m a human being in constant change, someone who adapts, who dives headfirst into whatever she commits to, and that adds a lot to who I am professionally.
Today, I don’t blame myself anymore for becoming a mom young. Today, I’m grateful. Without my daughter, I might not have the drive, or the ability to juggle obligations in the middle of chaos, under time pressure, and most importantly, I might not have learned so early how to ask for help instead of waiting for things to magically work out.
Hire moms. Even if their number one priority isn’t your company, they still make it a priority. And what they deliver is incredibly valuable. 💖
