IN A world striving for the best, International Women’s Day offers women around the world a chance to acknowledge their achievements.
As March 8 approaches, this day is dedicated to advancing women worldwide and ensuring progress towards equality remains on the global agenda.
This year’s theme Accelerate Action calls to accelerate gender equality.
Working mums are accelerating action daily as they juggle their work and personal life.
Cassandra Reilly
Lazy Girl Lingerie owner Cassandra Reilly is a prime example of this action as she has pursued her business goals for over nine years whilst welcoming her seven-month-old baby Clementine to her world.
“I definitely waited until I reached a certain point in my career and then I just felt ready to be a mum,” Cassandra said.
“Now being a mum, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she added.
Cassandra finds a common struggle for working mums is finding the balance between work, motherhood and self-care.
“I think we are our own worst critics, but we need to be our own best friends,” she said.
“When you have a baby, you just want the world for them, but you should want that for yourself too.”
Casey Daniel
Balance was also a struggle for Beaudesert Discount Drug Store owner Casey Daniel as the mother-of-two didn’t know what to expect when becoming a working mum.
“The first time around, I had all of these expectations on what I would be like as a full-time working mum and was probably harder on myself than I needed to be,” Casey said.
“I think the second time round I was wiser about how to juggle it, wiser about needing to give yourself a bit more time and be a bit gentler on yourself.”
“Finding a balance is hard, and if society allows us to find that balance better, then we can give more,” she added.
Denieka Osgood
Bloom Illusions owner Denieka Osgood is a first-time mum with her almost one-year-old Remington as she navigates her career path whilst raising a family.
“I’ve always wanted to be my own boss and have my own home business, especially so that when I had kids, I could be a stay-at-home mum and work from home,” Denieka said.
“It’s been really challenging to say the least, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Denieka found time management to be difficult when juggling the role as a working mum.
“Being a mum is a full-time job already – it’s not to be laughed at,” she said.
“Adaption is definitely one of the biggest things that I’ve had to learn. It is amazing what you can get done at nap time.”
Susie Cunningham
Scenic Rim Media business partner and Beaudesert Bulletin editor Susie Cunningham, who returned to work part time when daughter Rosie was six months old last year, said great teamwork in the workplace and at home made all the difference.
“It’s an honour to be in a business when you become a mum because it means that you get to decide the way that you’re going to work after you have your child,” Susie said.
“The juggle is definitely there because you want to give as much attention and passion to the business as you possibly can, but also you want to be really present with your child.”
Susie loves raising her little girl and hopes that Rosie can look at her mum as a strong role model.
“There are times when I think about my own juggle and I always hope that she’ll be able to look at it as she gets older and think, ‘My mum knows what she’s doing. She’s giving it a good go,’ she said.
“Nobody’s perfect and I think that’s who we are as humans; and what gives us something in common is that we’re all just having a go.”
