Talks
Speakers
Events
Topics
Sign in
Home
Talks
Speakers
Events
Topics
Leaderboard
Use
Analytics
Sign in
Suggest modification to this talk
Title
Description
Working during a global pandemic offers unique challenges. Parents, in particular, are facing a world of new responsibilities resulting in burn out, information overload, and other COVID side effects. The only question is what will break first… parents or the way we work? Allison McMillan is director of Engineering at GitHub. Developer. Mom. Speaker. Former Rails Girls Washington org. @parentdrivendev podcast creator. Welcome to the #NoRuKo conference. A virtual unconference organized by Stichting Ruby NL. #NoRuKo playlist with all talks and panels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9_A7olkztLlmJIAc567KQgKcMi7-qnjg Recorded 21th of August, 2020. NoRuKo website: https://noruko.org/ Stichting Ruby NL website: https://rubynl.org/
Date
Summarized using AI?
If this talk's summary was generated by AI, please check this box. A "Summarized using AI" badge will be displayed in the summary tab to indicate that the summary was generated using AI.
Show "Summarized using AI" badge on summary page
Summary
Markdown supported
In her talk titled "Everything is 🔥fine🔥," Allison McMillan, Director of Engineering at GitHub and creator of the Parent Driven Development podcast, addresses the unique challenges faced by working parents during the global pandemic. She highlights the increased responsibilities and mental load parents are experiencing, especially mothers, and emphasizes the need for both personal and organizational strategies to mitigate burnout and promote well-being. Key points discussed include: - **Impact of the Pandemic:** McMillan underscores how the pandemic has altered daily life and work dynamics for parents, leading to a sense of drowning in responsibilities. She shares her personal experience of balancing work and family duties with the challenges of childcare during uncertain times. - **Career Challenges for Parents:** She cites research indicating that while many fathers report neutral or positive impacts from parenthood on their careers, a significant number of mothers feel that having children has hurt their career progress, creating a daunting landscape for working mothers. - **Company-Based Solutions:** McMillan stresses the necessity of flexible work options, proactive support systems, and realistic expectations for parents at work. She suggests initiatives like creating parenting channels and training managers to be more accommodating. - **Personal Strategies for Parents:** McMillan advocates for eliminating parent guilt, scheduling self-care, building community among parents, and sharing the mental load within families. She offers insights into organizing responsibilities to prevent one parent from feeling overwhelmed. - **Support from Colleagues:** Lastly, she highlights the importance of empathy in the workplace, recommending that colleagues support parents by being friendly, understanding the challenges they face, and normalizing conversations about parenthood. The talk concludes with a reiteration that while the current environment is challenging, it is vital for support systems to be established to ensure that talented working mothers can thrive. McMillan poses a reflective question about whether parents will manage to find a new way of working before facing burnout. Her insights aim to foster a better understanding of the struggles of working parents, particularly in tech, and propose actionable solutions for everyone involved.
Suggest modifications
Cancel
