Name: Celebrity Speakers New Zealand
Price range: $

Having a career and a family is hard. And we can do hard things.

Profile

Emma Mclean, NZ’s working parent expert is a breath of fresh air when it comes to solutions for working parents navigating growing whānau, careers and life.

In the rapidly evolving workplace, the challenges faced by working parents have never been more complex. Between the early-morning emotional rollercoasters and the pressing demands of modern professional life, working parents (and their employers) need new strategies and tools to navigate their unique challenges.

What makes Emma well placed to meet this need are her deep insights gained from coaching hundreds of working parents and knowing what works for them. But more than this, for Emma, this work is personal. A mum to three teenagers, she knows first-hand how hard it is to have a career and family. This lived experience inspired Emma to pivot her successful 25-year corporate strategy career and become an Executive Coach. She believes that if we don’t put a care wrap around working mums specifically at the hardest time of their career when they have young children, we can’t be surprised if they are not there at the top.

Since establishing her business, Works for Everyone, in 2019, Emma has worked with NZ’s largest businesses to support their parents. Returning to work after parental leave is a transformational time in someone’s life. Sleep deprived, confidence wobbles, career questions and overwhelm can be constant companions. How their leader supports them is the biggest influence on how quickly and confidentially they transition back. The stories and tools she generously shares with her clients resonate not just with parents but also their leaders and colleagues.

She is also a voice for change when it comes to system change. She is sought after by the media for her opinions and in 2023 she launched her successful podcast “How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty” where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. In 2024, she has 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. You can’t be what you can’t see – and now we can see it.

Expertise

Talking Points

What Even Is Work/Life Integration?

Integrating our careers and life can seem like the never ending story. We want to get there but we never do. This is a practical session that equips you with tools and techniques to start identifying what you need and then asking for it - at home and at work.

Getting In The Drivers Seat of Your Career

It can be easy to drift in your career when there are so many demands on us both at work and in our home lives.
But it is important to remain in control and be in the driver’s seat. Because if you’re not – who is?
This session is an opportunity for you to pause and think “where am I and where do I want to be”? It will inspire you with ways that you can get into the driver’s seat and create a new sense of momentum for your career.

Asking for What You Need

Setting and managing boundaries can sound simple but in practice can be tricky.
This session is about getting you comfortable with asking for what you need, equipping you with handy hints when it gets hard and helping you to learn into difficult conversations.
For most of us, setting and managing boundaries will be a lifelong practice and this session invites you to start your practice now.

Making Space for Dads

Dads that are actively involved in caregiving have better mental health, and better relationships with their family. And we know that when Dads can be owners at home (and not helpers) it enables Mums to take on more paid work and progress their careers.
This talk will share the challenges of returning to work for all parents and provide ideas and Inspiration for Dads to smooth out these challenges.

Spotlight on Parents and Caregivers

Understand the macro view on the state of working parents and caregivers around the world. - the barriers they face into and some of the solutions.
And then highlights the micro view by walking through the top five pain points for working parents and how we might smooth these over.
This is a great workshop for People Leaders.

How To Smash The Motherhood Penalty

The WEF reports that up to 80% of the gender pay gap can be explained by the motherhood penalty. A penalty that only mothers pay when they become parents. We will discuss what causes the motherhood penalty and the actions that employers and individuals can take to smash it.