The demand for online shopping has obviously increased since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. But less obvious are the subtle psychological drivers behind our collective online shopping splurge. In fact, online shopping can relieve stress, provide entertainment and offers the reduced “pain” of paying…
COVID-19 is a disaster for working mums – and work from home is not the answer
When COVID-19 hit, some commentators hailed it as an opportunity to revolutionise gender roles in heterosexual couples. But as public life froze overnight and homes became schools, daycare centres and offices, mothers have been placed under more pressure, not less. Our new study on workers in the United States…
Nooooo! 13 random thoughts all working mums have when the alarm goes off
No matter whether we were night owls or up with the birds in our pre-baby lives, odds are that if we’ve got small people in the household right now, we’ll be struggling to get out of bed most mornings. This is never truer than when…
Why Aussie families need changes to ‘dad leave’ to give greater gender equality
Grattan Institute research published today shows the average 25-year-old woman who goes on to have a child can expect to earn A$2 million less by the time she is 70 than the average 25-year-old man who becomes a father. For childless women and men, the lifetime gap…
I discovered the true cost of trying to balance it all and it wasn’t working
In 2017 I was privileged to be appointed as Executive Director of Communications at the Peter Mac Cancer Centre, an internationally recognised brand doing amazing things for the community. As one of eight women out of 10 on the leadership team, the organisation had an…
Welcome to the new parenting reality in lockdown: ‘zigzag working’
All parents work. The difference lies in the breakdown between their paid and unpaid workloads. But during COVID-19 lockdowns, many working parents have had to conduct their paid work – usually done in the workplace – at home. Personally, professionally and geographically, this is new territory —…
Gender stereotypes may be keeping girls away from the highest paying jobs
Gender stereotypes begin in early childhood. Bright pink ‘toys for girls’ and blue ‘toys for boys’ are sold on store shelves around the world. In the boys’ section you’ll find science, construction and warfare toys — perhaps a motorised robot, or a telescope. In the girls’ lane…