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RubyConf 2018 - BDD: Baby Driven Development by Allison McMillan When I became a parent, I was completely unprepared for the challenges that awaited me. I reached out to hundreds of fellow parents in tech and learned there are common challenges that simply aren’t spoken about. These focus around one fact that no one wants to admit... parenting is not fun. Parenting is stressful, difficult, and oftentimes incredibly lonely. But being a parent also makes people more organized, focused, and empathetic. We’ll explore these survey results to expose common trends and issues and discuss solutions that show how supporting parents helps all team members thrive.
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In the presentation titled "BDD: Baby Driven Development" by Allison McMillan at RubyConf 2018, the speaker discusses the profound impact that parenthood has on individuals, particularly those in technical fields. McMillan highlights the challenges faced by parents in tech, emphasizing that while parenting can be incredibly rewarding, it is also fraught with difficulties, societal pressures, and feelings of isolation. The talk is grounded in survey data collected from fellow parents within the tech community, revealing common experiences and struggles. Key points covered include: - **Identity Shift**: McMillan shares her personal journey of becoming a mother and the identity changes that accompanied it. She discusses how it affected her work-life balance and mental health. - **Parental Work-Life Struggles**: Many parents reported challenges such as prolonged sleep deprivation, difficulty in maintaining professional development, and the struggle to balance childcare with coding responsibilities. McMillan mentions juggling full-time work with childcare responsibilities after unexpected changes, like a sudden loss of childcare. - **Impact on Careers**: Insights from surveys indicate that a significant number of women in tech feel that having children has negatively affected their career progression. Contrastingly, most fathers articulated that they either benefitted from or felt neutral about the impact of parenting on their careers. - **Community and Support**: The importance of community among parents in tech is emphasized, as shared experiences can foster empathy and support. McMillan suggests creating parenting-focused communication channels to strengthen these connections. - **Workplace Solutions**: McMillan proposes several organizational strategies to support parents, such as flexible work hours, improved parental leave policies, and fostering a supportive work environment. These changes are beneficial not only for parents but for the entire team dynamic. - **Eliminating Guilt**: McMillan concludes with advice for parents on managing the guilt that often accompanies balancing work and family life while emphasizing the importance of self-care, goal-setting, and sharing mental loads with partners. Overall, McMillan urges the tech community to recognize and address the unique challenges that parents face, promoting a culture of understanding and support that can lead to a more inclusive and productive work environment.
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