10 Reasons To Hire A Mom This Mother’s Day

On the heels of a year that took 5 million women from the workforce and brought many mothers to their breaking point, the challenges of being a working mother have never been more apparent. From proposals like the Marshall Plan for Moms, which would subsidize unpaid labor, to initiatives that focus on getting moms back to work, there’s an abundance of discussion about how to best support today’s mothers. 

Yet mothers have repeatedly proven the value they offer when organizations invest in retaining them. Since most organizations benefit from investing in high-performing employees that bring significant value to their teams, this side of the story is a worthy addition to the working mom narrative. 

So, this Mother’s Day, instead of a sweet homemade card, let’s give mom what she really wants – a full-time job, freelance gig, or support for her startup. While we’re at it, perhaps we should try to eliminate the motherhood penalty.

I spoke to several mom founders about how companies consistently benefit from hiring, retaining and investing in moms. Here are 10 themes they shared. 

1 – Moms are masters of multitasking. “At a startup, I need people who are ruthless about being efficient, multitasking, prioritizing, and pivoting,” says Missy Narula, founder of Exhale Parent. “Moms are always juggling multiple schedules, getting things done in any spare pocket of time they have and changing plans on a dime. The skills parenting requires are very well-suited to work.”

Melissa Clayton, CEO and Founder of Tiny Tags, says, “Moms are master multitaskers especially after they’ve had to spend the past year as teachers, tech support, and more while continue doing everything else they normally do.” 

“Moms know how to multitask,” says Megan Harper, a marketing professional who candidly documents her family life with a side of humor on GirlGoneChildInTheCity. “They also know they have limited time throughout the day and when they lock in and focus, they complete a job and do it well.” 

2 – They’re incredibly efficient. “Becoming a mother has made me more efficient with my time and energy than I could have imagined,” says Ariel Kaye, founder and CEO of Parachute. “Over the past two years, I’ve learned how to best structure my day and be present for the task at hand. When I’m in work mode I focus on being the best leader and when I’m in mama mode I give my full attention to my kids. I see that from my teammates who are parents as well.” 

“Moms are master negotiators — hello toddler meltdowns,” says Alex Taylor, co-founder of Perelel. “These skills are mission critical in the early stages of building a business.” 

3 – And they’re great at time management. Nathalie Walton, CEO of Expectful, says, “The moment you become a mother, you have an entirely new appreciation for time. Motherhood forces you to ruthlessly prioritize every moment. This is a skill mothers build during the newborn days, and it transfers to all other aspects of life, particularly our careers.”

4 – Parenting is the best training for productivity. “Mothers happen to be the most productive employees,” says Walton. “The Federal Reserve published a study that proved mothers were more effective in their jobs than their childless peers. The study looked at survey responses of 10,000 academics throughout a 30-year career.”

Louisa Serene Schneider, Founder & CEO of Rowan, says, “There is no one more productive than a working mother. I am so happy to be in the position with our growing company to continue to hire more moms.”

5 – Moms have incredible leadership skills. “Mothers are statistically proven to be more effective, efficient, and productive employees,” says Zabeen Mirza, Founder & CEO of Jobs.mom. “They’re better managers and leaders overall. Likely because they are better communicators, better listeners, better conflict resolvers, and better under pressure in general.”

6 – They can bring balance to your business. “Moms are superheroes, brilliant multitaskers, and our target audience,” says Sofi Newmyer, founder of Ma’am footwear. “A team of moms can do anything and as someone who is about to be a mom, I would love to be surrounded by mothers in the workplace to teach us how to not only do it all, but maintain balance.”

Cocokind founder Priscilla Tsai says, “As a recent mom, I’ve realized that you quickly learn important skills around balancing and prioritization. I’ve always believed in working smarter, not harder, and these are key skills in accomplishing that goal. Also, I think it’s so important to show our children that women can raise a family while also pursuing their career ambitions.”

7 – They offer a creative perspective that can help your bottom line. “Moms are always prepared for a crisis. They’re naturally empathetic. They understand how to anticipate the needs of others, and are committed to their fulfillment. They know how to take responsibility, not only for themselves, but for their families and communities,” says Shari Siadat, founder of TooD, a gender fluid and vegan makeup brand.  “We want the best for our children and families above all else. For example, it wasn’t until I became pregnant that I started discovering the toxicity of standard beauty ingredients, packed with hormone disruptors that can impact the health of both a pregnant woman and a child. It led me on a path to make sure that I wouldn’t bring hormone-disruptors and toxic chemicals into the ingredients for my own product line.”

Diapertainment founder Missy Narula adds, “Parents have unique insight into problems that need to be solved. The best companies are built around creating a solution to a problem, and moms have unique experience identifying and ideating around these pain points. Parenting is like a bootcamp for critical startup skills.” 

8 – They show up with passion, armed with grit. “The life skills that we gain while parenting are invaluable in the workplace,” says Liz Turrigiano, CEO of Esembly. “I love supporting mom-founded businesses because I know firsthand the passion and sacrifice that’s behind them.”

“Being an entrepreneur is hard enough,” says Tori Thain Gioia, co-founder of Perelel. “It’s compounded when you have a family on top of it. Only true passion and grit can drive someone to build a business while also having a family, which in itself deserves support and acknowledgement.”

9 – They have navigated change and worked through unexpected challenges. “Being a parent of a child with special needs has taught me to always plan for the worst-case scenario yet hope for the best,” says Shazi Visram, founder of Healthynest. “Good entrepreneurs are always adapting and have plan b’s and c’s, but having a child with special needs is a real primer for this. Parenting makes you realize you need a contingency plan everyday. We need to be fearless about abandoning what we thought was right, entering uncharted territory fairly often and accepting change. When you’re leading a business, there are an unlimited number of unknowns, and you have to respond in a way that addresses the problem at hand, includes your team and creates a new process – all while keeping it together as a role model to others and still be the human and mom you want to be.”

10 – They got through 2020. Megan Harper recently suggested in an Instagram post that all mothers should brag about their parenting skills in interviews, citing her own experience as an example. “I recently updated my resume to include my achievements in the last year, and the last line read, I achieved all of this while homeschooling a kindergartener, keeping a 3-year-old entertained and nursing a baby between Zoom calls in my NYC apartment. Now as we head back into a normal existence with childcare, imagine what I can do for your company in 2021.”