Where Did I Go...?

Patrescence, Paternity Leave and Parenting Out Loud with Elliot Ray

Welcome back to the final episode of WDIG for this year, and we are ending with a BIG one as I sit down with the author, activist, podcaster and all round legend that is: Elliott Rae. As the visionary behind Parenting Out Loud, the bestselling book DAD, and the groundbreaking BBC documentary Becoming Dad, Elliott has forced the UK to confront a glaring blind spot: Dads are parents too, and it’s time workplaces, media, and society treated them that way. Elliott’s work is dismantling outdated stereotypes, pushing employers to create truly inclusive cultures, and giving dads permission to show up as their full selves…without apology. His Parenting Out Loud campaign has become a blueprint for workplace equity, his documentary Becoming Dad sparked a national reckoning, and his book DAD has given voice to a generation of fathers who’ve felt invisible for too long. In this episode, we’ll explore: * How Elliott turned his personal journey into a movement, and why Parenting Out Loud is now the gold standard for supporting working dads. * The workplace revolution: What it really takes to build cultures where dads get to parent loudly and proudly * What’s next for fatherhood in the UK, ****and how you can be part of the change. If you’ve ever wondered why dads are still treated as an afterthought, or how to fix it, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. If you're interested in finding out more about the amazing work that Elliott does, take a look here: https://elliottrae.com/ [https://elliottrae.com/] ENJOY!

The journey, grief and joy of parenting a child with complex needs with Anna Pawlowicz

Anna Pawlowicz's life looked like so many others: a fulfilling career, a happy family, one son at home and another on the way. Then her second son, Matias, was born with an ultra-rare genetic condition causing lifelong disability, followed later by an autism diagnosis. Everything changed. Anna quickly learned that parenting a child with complex needs reshapes every corner of your life: your identity, your marriage, your friendships, your career. She became case manager, researcher, advocate and round-the-clock caregiver — while somehow still showing up professionally. It's a form of invisible labor that transforms everything. But Anna's journey didn't stop there. It became a profound reckoning with her own fears about disability and the deep stigma it holds in society. That transformation led her to found HumanKind, a Copenhagen-based consultancy redefining what inclusion actually means, not just for disabled employees, but for the growing community of parents navigating life with children who have additional needs. In this episode, we explore what it really means to parent a child with complex needs, how that experience reshapes everything, and why this rising generation of parents is forcing workplaces to reckon with a community they've long overlooked. I’m so honoured to have Anna here today to share her story. If you’re raising a family with additional needs, or simply want to better understand the reality of people who are, this episode is for you. Some links and resources from Anna that we mention in the episode: 1) Instagram profiles of content creators educating about disability in a fun and approachable way: Emily Ladau - @emilyladau Tina Friml - @tinafriml Nina Tame - @nina_tame Gem Turner - @gem_turner 2) Reading For parents on a similar journey: ‘Special’ - book by Melanie Dimmitt ‘Welcome to Holland’ - an essay by Emily Perl Kingsley, written for new parents of children with disabilities. https://www.angelmantoday.com/welcome-to-holland-by-emily-perl-kingsley/ [https://www.angelmantoday.com/welcome-to-holland-by-emily-perl-kingsley/] For those wanting to learn more about how to be an ally to people with disabilities: ‘Demystifying disability’ - book by Emily Lady ‘Sitting Pretty’ - book by Rebekah Taussig And Anna's LinkedIn for anyone who’d like to connect - her DMs are always open: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annapawlowicz/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annapawlowicz/]

Friendship, freedom and finding yourself at the skatepark with The Board Mums Club

Hey — grab a cuppa and settle in. This episode is a heartwarming, kick-in-the-pants reminder that motherhood doesn’t have to mean the end of you. Zoe and Claire, founders of The Bored Mums Club, walk us through how two friends turned a midlife identity slump into a joyful, messy, welcoming community at the skate park. We talk loneliness, matrescence (that endless process of becoming and re-becoming yourself), and how playfulness can heal and reconnect us to who we once were — and who we still want to be. These women show up each week at the skatepark with a group of other mums, armed with scraped shins, wobbly knees, and huge cheer squads, proving that trying something new is an act of radical self-kindness. If you’ve ever thought, “I could never,” you’ll love the practical, gentle encouragement here: bring a friend, join a club, or DM someone online. Do the thing that makes your heart sing! Most clubs are full of beginners, and honestly, everyone’s too busy enjoying themselves to notice you fumble — and if they do, they’ll probably help you up. This episode is both a warm hug and a dare — to reclaim fun, build a modern village of women across ages and stages, and model curiosity for the kids watching. It’s about permission: you can be playful, take up space, learn new things, and reinvent yourself at any age. By the end you’ll feel seen, a little braver, and ready to try something that scares you — because the reward isn’t perfection, it’s the friends, confidence, and surprise joy you find along the way.

The motherhood penalty: £125,000 lost and how we fix it with Joeli Brearley

AHHH this is a big one!! In this week's episode, I sit down with the legend herself, Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed and now Growth Spurt, one of the UK's most relentless advocates for parents in the workplace. After being fired by voicemail two days after announcing her pregnancy, Joeli turned her personal story into a movement, one that has changed laws, secured billions in government investment, and supported hundreds of thousands of mothers. And the timing couldn't be better. Brand new ONS data just dropped showing that mothers lose £65,000 in the five years after their first baby, and £125,000 if they have three children. When people say "of course you'll earn less, just be grateful you have a baby," what they're actually saying is your financial freedom doesn't matter. But Joeli's here to tell you: it absolutely does, and it doesn't have to be this way. This conversation isn't just about documenting the problem—it's about the solutions. From why parental leave is the single biggest lever we have to change everything, to why companies that hide caregiving are shooting themselves in the foot, to what Growth Spurt is doing to support the return-to-work transition that breaks so many of us. This is essential listening for every working mother who's been told she should just accept less.

"Welcome to the Workstyle Revolution!": Reimagining work for the reality of modern motherhood with Lizzie Penny

As working mothers, we're told that flexible working is the solution. Work from home two days a week. Do compressed hours. Start at 10am instead of 9am. But if these solutions actually worked, why do we still feel like we're constantly drowning? Why are we still apologizing for our lives? Why does the motherhood penalty persist? Flexible working has been around for more than 70 years, yet employment gaps for mothers aren't closing. We're not failing...the system is. In this episode, I sit down with Lizzie Penny, mother of three and cofounder of the Workstyle Revolution, a charity on a mission to create a world of work without bias. Lizzie's story is a masterclass in why we need to stop tweaking the edges of an outdated system and start demanding something entirely different. Lizzie introduces the concept of "work style"—NOT flexible working, but a fundamental reimagining of how we measure value, productivity, and contribution in the workplace. She explains why mothers are actually the most productive workers (yes, there's data!), why you shouldn't have to apologise for going to your child's school play, and how the complexity of our lives is our superpower, not our weakness. This conversation will change how you think about your worth at work and give you the language and permission to start advocating for what you actually need to thrive, not just survive, as a working mother.