💌 Weekly: Doing it all? No

Doing what matters? Definitely.

The Female Quotient
May 12, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

WHAT’S ON DECK

Tell Me More: Parenthood didn’t slow me down. It focused me.
FQ Leaders Spotlight: Vini Kaul, Corporate Executive, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Investor
Inside Track: Leaders on the move
Dear FQ: Will setting boundaries at work limit my growth?
Poll the Pack: Just do it!

TELL ME MORE

Parent Company

File under “we could have told you that” 📂: being a working parent isn’t easy. There’s a lot to juggle: meetings, doctor visits, extracurriculars, healthy food on the table…and somehow still being present both at work and at home. The phrase “it takes a village" would be cliché if it weren’t so true.

And in the U.S., the reality is even tougher for working mothers. Studies show that mothers face what’s known as the motherhood penalty, where pay can decrease by 5-20% for each child they have. Motherhood can also change how women are perceived professionally, being viewed as less committed or less competent.

But here’s where it gets interesting: most employees don’t believe parenthood slows careers down. Research from The Female Quotient and Ipsos, in partnership with Once Upon a Farm, finds that 64% of all employees say parenthood accelerated their careers and leadership track. Among parents, that number jumps to 69%.

In other words, becoming a parent isn’t a tradeoff; it’s an advantage. And when parents have support, they don’t slow down; they step up. Cassandra Curtis, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Once Upon a Farm shared, “My biggest hope for how Once Upon a Farm can help families is that we are a part of their village. We’re their ally from babies to big kids so that they can excel in their careers and their lives.”

82% of parents believe their ambition increased after having children. Yes, increased. It’s not exactly the narrative we’ve been sold for years about mothers “stepping back.” Parenthood sharpened their sense of purpose and deepened their drive. In fact, 72% of parents started to make bolder career moves after becoming a parent. As Talia Bender Small, President of The Female Quotient, explains, “It’s made me more ambitious because I want to be a role model to my son and my daughter. They fuel me every day.” Parents are succeeding in their careers because they have children, not in spite of it.

Katie Marston, Chief Marketing Officer at Once Upon a Farm, feels that parenting has given her a leg up: “I have two children with very different personalities, one being neurodivergent. They have reminded me to alter my communication and management style depending on the person I am talking to. And to find the “special” in each one.”

Success comes down to infrastructure, the village around you. And that village includes employers. Companies that offer flexible schedules, parental leave, and the ability to work remotely as needed see real results. 78% of all employees, and 86% of parents, say they would stay longer at a company that supports parents. Supporting caregivers isn’t just nice; it’s strategic.

The good news is that 74% of parents confirm that their workplace supports them as a caregiver. Rachel Apirian, Chief Content Officer at The Female Quotient, shares, “Our CEO, Shelley Zalis, always tells us that if something important is happening for our kids, a soccer game, field trip, or school presentation, we should be there. No one will remember the meeting you missed, but your kids will remember the moments you showed up for. Many of us are parents going through it together. We’ve become each other’s village.”

The village beyond the workplace, partners, siblings, grandparents, nannies, and friends all play a crucial role. 74% of parents say sharing caregiving responsibilities helped them advance their careers. For many families, that also means challenging traditional gender roles. Historically, when a heteronormative couple has had to choose between work and caregiving, the responsibility has fallen to the woman to stay at home. But when both partners share the load, a woman’s career, ambitions, and financial autonomy are not sidelined. Vanessa Buenger, Head of Creative Strategy & Partner Solutions at The Female Quotient, says of her relationship with her husband, “We split caregiving responsibilities equitably. If one of us is having a week where we have less to give, the other steps in.”

Parenthood is one of the most demanding roles there is. It’s also a powerful training ground for leadership: empathy, patience, multitasking, flexibility, organization, communication, and crisis management…to name a few. When 81% of all employees (parents and non-parents alike) say that caring for children is leadership, our workplaces should reflect that reality. As Cassandra Curtis shares, “You can follow your passion, and you can have a family. It's just about getting support along the way where you need it.”

The leaders shaping organizations are often navigating bedtime negotiations and business negotiations. This isn’t about doing it all. It’s about doing what matters. And what matters, at home and at work, is leading with care.

FQ LEADERS SPOTLIGHT

Troublemakers who don’t fit the mold, and don’t try to

To put it mildly, Vini Kaul is a go-getter. Growing up as a child to parents who became overnight refugees due to terrorism, Vini went on to graduate from Harvard Business School. She has extensive experience in multibillion-dollar deals in tech, sales & growth, and has worked across industries, including aerospace and defense, manufacturing, tech, and consumer goods, working with Fortune 500 companies like Pfizer, GSK, Rolls-Royce, Google, Microsoft, BAE, Raytheon, Textron, etc.

What’s the worst career advice you’ve gotten?

We were bidding on a billion-dollar deal with multiple stakeholders involved. I was heading the account and primary point of contact for the customer, coordinating across teams, bringing people into the war room, communicating with the CEO, PE firms, and sourcing advisors.

It was during this deal that someone told me that I needed to follow the hierarchy. While I understand that there is a chain of command, you also have to know when to tune out the noise and get your work done. At the end of the day, it was about my customer. So I trusted my instincts, stayed focused, and led the effort end to end. That experience was pivotal because it taught me that if you own the relationship, you should also own the responsibility to lead from the front and drive decisions forward.

What’s the best piece of non-obvious career advice you’ve gotten?

Enjoy the journey! I learned this the hard way. I’ve always been a highly ambitious person. How I approached work was similar to how I approached running, very focused on reaching a goal. One day, someone said to me, “You should look around and enjoy the scenery as well.” I realized they were right and that it applies to both your career and personal life. We sometimes forget to enjoy the journey while chasing our goals.

What was a heartbeat moment for you in your career?

At the beginning of my career, I had a high-profile job at a tech company where I was one of the youngest employees. We had a customer who was a $100 billion pharma giant, and I served as an account lead. After a while, the customer requested that I head the account and relationship globally. I was thrilled that they had so much trust in me, but I was also very young. My supervisor saw a fire in me and fought with other stakeholders in the company so that I could have the opportunity.

While at times it was difficult, it was very rewarding. I built so much trust and credibility with the customer that when I left the company, they wanted to hire me. That experience shaped the entire trajectory of my professional and personal life. It taught me how to be a leader.

Who is one person you’d love to give flowers to from your career that influenced your journey? What advice or lesson did you learn from them?

I would like to give flowers to my parents because they have contributed to my professional success. After we became refugees, both of my parents had to start not just from scratch, but at a deficit. As kids, we watched them navigate difficult situations in a new place and environment. They taught us about ferocious hard work, setting goals, resilience, discipline, and doing the best possible job even in the face of adversity. They made sacrifices that helped me and my siblings grow up to have the greatest careers and lives.

Where have you caused some good trouble in your career?

We’ve been taught that the customer is always right. But when you’re working with a customer as a partner, there will be moments of misalignment. I’ve seen colleagues hesitate to speak up in those situations, but in my experience, that ultimately hurts the outcome. Partnership requires honesty on both sides.

While it may feel unorthodox to some, I’ve always been transparent with my customers. And more often than not, they value it because it shows a shared commitment to accountability and to achieving the best possible result together.

Want to nominate a “Troublemaker” you admire? You can do so here.

INSIDE TRACK

Leaders on the move

Veronique Gabai Pinsky has been appointed the first-ever Chief Brand & Product Officer at Bath & Body Works
Nora Wolfe has taken on her new role as Senior Vice President and U.S. Head of Media at L'Oréal USA
Melissa (Grady) Dias has been named CEO of Measured Wellness
Abigail Shilling is stepping into the role of VP of Communications at Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Samantha Jacobson is now VP of Partnerships (Monetization) at OpenAI

DEAR FQ

Your burning career questions answered

Janis Gilman of The Female Quotient weighs in:

It’s hard enough setting boundaries in your personal life, but at work, it can feel even more complex. Saying “no” can feel like you’re closing doors. But done right, boundaries don’t limit growth, they protect the energy required to actually achieve it.

At the same time, Emma Grede, co-founder of SKIMS and Good American, argues that setting rigid, traditional boundaries, especially early in your career, limits career growth and opportunity. Her perspective is that high-level success requires immense effort and “radical self-responsibility.” Work-life balance isn’t something a company hands you; it’s something you take ownership of.

Both things can be true. The most effective leaders aren’t available for everything, but they know when to lean in. They’re intentional about where they invest their time and when the opportunity is worth the stretch. Instead of looking at boundaries as barriers, think of them as strategic choices.

The key is anchoring those choices to impact. Be clear about your priorities and communicate them in terms of outcomes: “To deliver X at the highest level, I need to focus on Y.” That shifts the conversation from limitation to commitment. And when you do say yes, make sure it builds your skills, visibility, or influence in a meaningful way. Sustainable careers are built by people who manage their capacity as carefully as their ambition.

P.S. Got a burning career question? Serve it up here to Dear FQ to score advice from a powerhouse leader in our network.

POLL THE PACK

Stop waiting and just do it.

If your job is starting to feel stagnant, the answer isn’t to wait for something new to come along. It’s to create it yourself.

A growth mindset means looking at what’s right in front of you and asking, what’s missing? 53% of employees say the best way to grow is by spotting gaps and stepping in. The people who move forward aren’t waiting for permission, they pay attention and take action. That kind of ownership stands out. It’s raising your hand before you feel ready, solving problems before you’re asked, and treating your role like it’s bigger than your job description.

And here’s the part many people skip: preparation. If you want to step in, you have to be ready to back it up. That means building your skills continuously, taking the course, and learning the system, so when the moment comes, you don’t hesitate. You just do it.

Go ahead, forward this to someone in your village you couldn’t do life without.

Xo,

The FQ

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