Working and having a family is hard. But what is really fatiguing is that it is only mothers that pay a penalty when they become parents. It is only mothers that pay an up to 60% salary penalty over the first five years of establishing their family. Only mothers that see their retirement savings penalised because of the caregiving requirements they are fulfilling. And only mothers that get sidelined in their careers because of the lack of quality part time roles.
In this podcast we are going to get curious about the system that creates the motherhood penalty and curious about the solutions that are going to smash it. We will talk to some of the experts who are actively smashing it, find out their story and figure out what we can learn from them. Hosted by Emma Mclean, CEO & Founder of Works for Everyone, this is a punchy, practical, and peppered with laughter podcast that equips listeners with ideas they can take back to their homes and workplaces to help smash the motherhood penalty.
From Site to School Run: Breaking Construction Norms with Hannah & Matt McHugh
When a mother steps back into her career after years of carrying the primary parenting load, it isn't just about "getting back to work", it's about catching up on lost momentum. But making space for a mother's career to thrive requires more than just goodwill; it demands that fathers step in as fully hands-on leads at home.
In this episode, Emma sits down with Auckland couple Hannah and Matt McHugh. Hannah works in corporate charity partnerships and proudly "parents out loud" on LinkedIn, while Matt has shifted from full-time construction sites to taking the lead at home with their three young boys. They share the realities of their home baton change, the social friction and identity shifts Matt experienced in the schoolyard and the trade industry, and how finding an open-minded employer created a flexible, part-time building role that fits their family.
Hannah and Matt also unpack their six-year journey using the Fair Play system, explaining how delegating entire domain ownerships, from lunchboxes to cars, eliminates domestic resentment and builds true partnership.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
The Domestic Baton Change: How Matt transitioned to lead parent at home to enable Hannah to catch up on career momentum.
The Construction Industry Hurdle: Facing cultural pushback in traditional trades and how Matt secured a rare, flexible part-time building role through LinkedIn networking.
School Gate Dynamics and Identity Shifts: Navigating the social re-adjustment from site banter to being "the playdate dad" at school pickups.
Domain Ownership Over Micromanagement: Using the Fair Play framework to hand over complete portfolios (cars, pets, lunchboxes) without stepping in to control the outcome.
Lowering Standards for Household Harmony: Choosing which domestic "balls" are glass and which are plastic to keep family life focused on connection.
The Magic Wand System Levers: Normalising a 50/50 parenting expectation from the outset and shifting societal focus away from financial pressure to put family well-being first.
Connect with Emma
This podcast was funded and created by Emma Mclean, the founder of Works for Everyone. Emma Mclean is a mum of three and founder of Works for Everyone, a professional development business that partners with NZ's leading corporates to help them retain and grow their working parent talent. She does this through innovative leadership programmes, executive coaching and keynote speaking. She founded her business in 2019 following a 20-year career in corporate strategy where she experienced first-hand how hard it was to have a career and a family. As an impatient optimist when it comes to system change, she launched her successful podcast "How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty" in 2023 where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. And in 2024 she launched the first NZ Part Time Power List, to shine a light on those senior roles in NZ that are career building, not side stepping.
To work with Emma or enquire about speaking: emma@worksforeveryone.co.nz
www.worksforeveryone.co.nz
https://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/
12 Oct 2026
Rethinking the 40-Hour Workweek: Technology, Flexibility, and Parenting with Emily Blumenthal
When a mother is the primary earner, the assumption that she will automatically be the default parent creates friction at work and at home. But when a partner actively steps up to share the load, systemic workplace cultures often penalise active dads for requesting the exact same flexibility extended to mothers.
In this episode, Emma sits down with senior marketing executive Emily Blumenthal to explore the realities of juggling a high-level corporate career while raising five-year-old twins. Emily shares how gendered caregiving assumptions caught her and her husband by surprise, her experience navigating a return-to-work redundancy, and why drawing firm boundaries around reduced-hours leadership roles is essential for long-term career sustainability.
Emily and Emma break down the practical systems required to run a smooth household, from daily check-ins over making school lunches to the psychological shift required when mothers step back so fathers can fully step in.
In This Episode, We Talk About:
The Dual Penalty for Active Parents: How societal assumptions punish breadwinning mothers while simultaneously penalising fathers who ask for caregiving flexibility.
Returning After Twins: Navigating corporate restructures, part-time transitions, and knowing when to hold non-negotiable boundaries around working hours.
The Power of the Backup Plan: How maintaining options and consulting or contracting paths restores agency during corporate uncertainty.
Daily Connection Systems: Using routine household tasks to over-communicate, align schedules, and address friction before resentment builds.
When Mums Let Go: Why stepping away from the default parent role allows partners to build confidence and take full ownership of caregiving.
The 32-Hour Magic Wand: Challenging the outdated 40-hour workweek standard and using AI and technology to drive productivity over presenteeism.
Connect with Emma
This podcast was funded and created by Emma Mclean, the founder of Works for Everyone. Emma Mclean is a mum of three and founder of Works for Everyone, a professional development business that partners with NZ's leading corporates to help them retain and grow their working parent talent. She does this through innovative leadership programmes, executive coaching and keynote speaking. She founded her business in 2019 following a 20-year career in corporate strategy where she experienced first-hand how hard it was to have a career and a family. As an impatient optimist when it comes to system change, she launched her successful podcast "How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty" in 2023 where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. And in 2024 she launched the first NZ Part Time Power List, to shine a light on those senior roles in NZ that are career building, not side stepping.
To work with Emma or enquire about speaking: emma@worksforeveryone.co.nz
www.worksforeveryone.co.nz
https://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/
5 Oct 2026
Believing in Your Bigness: How High-Achieving Mothers Step Into Their Power with Kat Francis
So many experienced, high-achieving women return from parental leave only to find themselves treated less like a strategic asset and more like a workplace liability. Faced with rigid expectations and zero room for growth, it’s easy to slip into survival mode, take a demotion, or quietly settle for roles that no longer challenge or inspire.
In this episode, Emma welcomes Melbourne-based, Kiwi-born leadership and ambition coach Kat Francis. With two decades of experience in senior agency leadership across Australia and New Zealand, Kat shares her personal journey of quitting a top agency career to rebuild a lifestyle where work and life align.
She and Emma explore why high-performing mothers struggle to admit what they actually want, how to transition from simply surviving to actively choosing your next step, and why the personal growth gained through motherhood is actually an unrecognised leadership bonus.
Kat also shares practical tactics for managing household dynamics with a partner, letting go of the rigid 50/50 split, and walking into career negotiations with unshakeable confidence.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
The "Refined Ambition" Shift: Why experienced, senior women often fall out of love with their careers post-kids and how to step back to figure out what you actually want.
The Motherhood Bonus: Reframing the experience of raising children as a massive leadership development upgrade that builds boundaries, focus, and drive.
Moving Beyond Survival Mode: Recognising that while survival mode is a necessary phase for young families, you cannot set up camp there permanently.
The Directorship Approach to Home Life: Why Kat prefers allocating domain "directorships" (like Director of Holidays or Director of Maintenance) over tracking every minor household task.
"With or Without You" Negotiation Energy: How stepping into your value and dropping the fear of rejection makes you unbeatable in career transitions.
Believing in Your Bigness: Giving yourself permission to stop settling for crappy or stagnant roles just because you're a mother.
Connect with Emma
This podcast was funded and created by Emma Mclean, the founder of Works for Everyone. Emma Mclean is a mum of three and founder of Works for Everyone, a professional development business that partners with NZ's leading corporates to help them retain and grow their working parent talent. She does this through innovative leadership programmes, executive coaching and keynote speaking. She founded her business in 2019 following a 20-year career in corporate strategy where she experienced first-hand how hard it was to have a career and a family. As an impatient optimist when it comes to system change, she launched her successful podcast "How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty" in 2023 where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. And in 2024 she launched the first NZ Part Time Power List, to shine a light on those senior roles in NZ that are career building, not side stepping.
To work with Emma or enquire about speaking: emma@worksforeveryone.co.nz
www.worksforeveryone.co.nz
https://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/
Who has been a guest on How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty
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Haylee Killip
Katherine Cornish
Vanessa Simons
Kate Mangino
Tania Domett
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