Despite women feeling more overworked and anxious in the last 12 months and twice as likely to sacrifice their careers to be caregivers, female-founded businesses have doubled and the Fortune 500 has more female CEOs than ever, demonstrating women are key to a post-pandemic recovery.
A working mother, especially one who has the good fortune to be able to balance her home and work, enjoys the stimulation that a job or career provides. She develops the ability of raising a useful member of society and at the same time gains financial independence. Along with motherhood, work adds to the completeness of being a woman.
In celebration of all the mothers who work at Summit we salute them by showing what it truly means to be a working mom and how they prioritise family life, work duties, deadlines, lunch boxes, health, happiness, and everything in between.
Among many others, Anthea Kallis, Adele Oosthuizen, Khululiwe Nxumalo and Naveshnie Tikai are all working mothers at Summit who make use of different methods of stress relief, structures, and practices on how to successfully balance their busy lives.
Managing stress is one of the least talked about topics in most businesses. Anthea, Business Continuity Manager at Summit, who has a young daughter, says that being conscious of her example as a mother, together with doing her best at work, helps her to feel at peace with herself and keeps her stress levels at bay.
“I try and keep at the forefront of my mind that work is what I do and not who I am. I do my best every day and ultimately that gives me peace. I travel quite a lot, so I need to plan accordingly with regards to my daughter’s activities. It helps to have times blocked off as ‘mom time’ where my focus is solely on her as I feel this helps with the times that I am away.”
Another mother, Adele, a Learning Engagement Manager who has a teenage daughter, says that although mothers still face numerous challenges in the workplace, the feeling of guilt when work is all consuming, makes many working moms feel that they are neglecting their homes and families.
“In order to do efficient planning, I think having time management, communication, organisational and project management skills is very important to have when having a busy career while also being a mother. Raising a child, is like managing a project.”
Khululiwe, a Training, Learning and Development facilitator says that planning ahead is what adds good structure to her family life and work priorities.
“I make sure that every month is well planned out. I make sure to have game nights and movie marathons with my children. Weekdays are traditional and we allow no disturbance to the kids’ routines. For me it’s important to put my goals forward. Try your best to achieve them because your children can’t pour from empty cups. Share your challenges and your wins.”
Naveshnie Tikai, a Senior Training Co-ordinator, has two young daughters and says that avoiding procrastination is the key to success in her family.
“Every day I draw up a task list of what needs to be done. I highlight the most urgent tasks, and this is what carries me through each day. I don’t procrastinate and try always to be ahead of everything. Every morning, I honestly still get excited to go to work. I love being proactive and try to assist wherever I possibly can. I love waking up every day to discover the new ideas my children come up with. Watching them grow together and become closer to each other, is my joy.”
To all the mothers that form part of our Summit team family, we would like to thank you for your dedication and support in growing this business while also being a mother.