This interview with Caroline Marshall is part of the latest CAKE.com campaign aimed at understanding the needs and experiences of women in business. We handpicked successful women CEOs to help us explore the challenges female founders face, and how they balance their work and personal commitments. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Caroline Marshall<\/a> explains, a personal assistant is a traditionally female role. Because of this and her work ethic, she described her beginnings as easy and natural. However, going to board meetings, which is something PAs regularly do, made her feel intimidated. Even though Caroline worked hard and was always reliable, she felt the pressure of proving her worth in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the biggest lesson Caroline learned when it came to her career beginnings, was the importance of choosing the right work environment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just learning what kind of career you want, but what work base suits you. That\u2019s because a lot of roles could be a million times better in the right culture and the right workforce for you.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Caroline describes the current state of gender (in)equality in the business owners\u2019 space as \u201cscary, but hopeful\u201d<\/em>. She notes that global fiscal uncertainty affects both female and male CEOs. However, she warns that the dark sides of social media with current trad wife trends \u2014 where women are being encouraged not to work \u2014 lead to greater financial inequality in society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the upside, she praises the positive sides of social media. For instance, social media made it easier for women to access information and ideas about venture capital (VC) funding: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s quite an exciting time for female founders, and statistics show that the number of female business owners is increasing, especially when it comes to small businesses.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n However, Caroline believes there\u2019s still more work to be done to improve the position of women business owners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think there’s a great opportunity to raise awareness, but we’ve gotta keep going with that.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The hardest time for many women CEOs comes when they decide to become mothers. Marshall believes motherhood puts female founders in a more disadvantageous position: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can’t talk about women and not address the motherhood side of things. It’s fathers who suffer as well, but, the numbers show women are in a much more unfavorable position.\u201d <\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n She clarifies that \u201cequality doesn\u2019t exist at home. Even if you have great partners, our standards are a lot lower for what partners are doing within the home versus what we are doing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caroline\u2019s insights align with the findings of our Gender Inequality in Unpaid Domestic Work Report, which shows that in working couples with children, women are still responsible for 57% of the housework. Read more findings here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While companies are making efforts to ensure workplaces are more equal, Caroline says many often overlook maternity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe maternity penalty, which then also leads to a pension penalty, has so many knock-on effects.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n She also believes that the lack of support female founders receive makes motherhood a much more difficult decision: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lack of support for founders becoming mothers. I’ve spoken to women who want to become mothers and I understand that it\u2019s a huge decision for them. They aren\u2019t sure how to make that decision and how that\u2019s going to affect their career.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n For these reasons, motherhood was both rewarding and challenging for Caroline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMotherhood just made me more passionate, better at work, and made me find my path. But, it’s terrifying, and I went through a really hard process to get here. My first few years of motherhood were not easy and a part of the reason for that was my career.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n As someone who struggled with having a lot on her plate, Caroline had to learn to balance her personal and professional life to maintain her peace of mind. She makes sure to incorporate her self-care routine such as meditations and breathwork into her calendar. If she has to take a nap, she\u2019ll schedule it into her calendar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can work a nap into my schedule to make sure I\u2019m well-rested for the remainder of my day. I’m not bought into the \u2018women don\u2019t rest\u2019 badge of honor because I believe we need and deserve rest.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n According to her, it\u2019s important to understand what kind of routine works for us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor instance, I am not someone who can get up really early. So, I never rely on the fact that I can just get up at 5 a.m. for a workout when I have a busy schedule.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Caroline also makes time for her friends and chooses a book over looking at her phone or watching TV. She believes this sets a great example for her kids as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about what employers can do to support employees who are parents, Marshall highlighted that progress regarding this support relies upon changing outdated rules that don\u2019t serve or support employees. To resolve this, she suggested companies look into alternatives such as job shares, setting core hours, and focusing on outcomes rather than time spent on tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, Caroline believes that approaching leadership from a place of empathy is key to supporting not only parents but all employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis wouldn\u2019t be helpful to just employees who are parents, as there’s going to be other people going through things that aren’t parenthood and aren’t particularly female-heavy. Anyone can find themselves in situations where they have to care for a parent or lose a loved one. <\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But I believe that if your workplace supports parents, there\u2019s going to be enough empathy for employees in other situations as well. Having a more flexible system in place and offering support and sympathy goes a long way.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n This interview is part of CAKE.com\u2019s latest Women in Tech campaign. Stay tuned for more female CEO insights. And, on February 11, check out our comprehensive Women in Tech study exploring the challenges and experiences of women in tech.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n \n Get 3 enterprise tools for the price of 1<\/p>\n \n Cut your costs in half while keeping productivity at full throttle. Get Clockify, Pumble, and Plaky at a 53% discount with the CAKE.com Productivity Bundle.<\/p>\n \n Read how the CEO of Upsource, Caroline Marshall, balances being a CEO with taking care of a family. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thought-leaders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
On progressing in a traditionally female field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nOn the female CEO space: uncertain but hopeful <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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