How it started...
My story started back in 2011 when I became a mum to a beautiful little girl at the age of 22. After 6 months of maternity leave, I started my first recruitment role. Working up hill to 60 hour weeks, I was tired all the time and wasn't seeing my daughter half as much as I would have liked.
The ultimate mum guilt came when Sydney was 1 years old, and I became a single mum.
Now working every hour, god sent to keep a roof over our heads, to pay for Sydney's nursery and everything else that comes with it.
I knew something had to change.
The Discrimination ....
After 4 years, I eventually took a leap of faith and relocated Sydney and I to Northamptonshire to move in with Aaron (my now husband).
When I moved to Northampton, I felt I needed to continue to pursue my career in recruitment and so, I joined another recruitment company.
After the first 2 weeks' training in head office, I moved on to my permanent branch in Northampton.
On the first day, I met with my manager, who initially ignored me. What happened next lit a fire in me that I didn't know existed....
Manager - "Hayley, do you have kids?"
Hayley - "Yes I have one"
Manager - "Yes I know, I'm disgusted with you! How dare you not tell me you're a mum? I don't hire mum's. Mums are just a faff!"
To say this shocked me to my core, is an understatement.
Looking back, I have always been seen as "less" in the workplace due to the fact I am mum, eg - having to take holiday when Sydney was ill. Missing out on sports day as I couldn't have the day off etc.
However, THIS was a whole new level of discrimination - who knew mum's could be discriminated against too?
From this I knew something had to change.
The Change...
After Covid came and the world went into lock down, I made it my mission to learn everything there was about business.
- How they worked.
- Different business models
- HR
- Business Strategy
From this, I discovered many mums' feel and have experienced similar unfair judgment due to being a mum in the workplace and I have now made it my mission to change that. So The Flexible Working Strategist was born ...
Our mission is "To create a space where women can learn to create a life that is fulfilling for them without compromising time with their families".
I understand first hand how hard juggling work and family is, and so now I am here to show you a better way!