621: Amy Henderson: How Motherhood Changes Your Brain And Makes You More Marketable

Amy Henderson is one of our nation’s leading voices on the critical role of parenting and caregiving in developing the future of work. Amy has three kids and is the founding CEO of TendLab, where she has been working with companies and their parents’ groups at places like Salesforce, Accenture, Cloudflare, Airbnb, Lululemon, and many others to optimize the workplace for parents. As cited in Forbes for her "truly collaborative nature," Amy also started and co-leads the Fam Tech Founders Collaborative, a network of over 180 founders who are solving for the needs of caregivers.

A regular speaker and author advocating on behalf of the power of parenthood at work, Amy has been featured in and written for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company, Slate, InStyle, and more. Her book, 'Tending: Parenthood and the Future of Work," was published by Nationbuilder Books in May 2021.

I got to hear Amy speak at an event for her book recently and I was blown away. I reached out to her (aka: stalked her down online) immediately after the event and asked her to join me for an interview. I’m so delighted and honored she said yes. Her work is not only brilliant, but absolutely critical, right now. 

Listen in to hear Amy share:

• Her stark realizations after having 3 kids under the age of 4 and having to figure out how to raise babies and her career
• How parenthood changes all parents brains - regardless of whether or not you birthed your child
• How parenthood unlocks parts of your brain forever - that qualify you to show up and lead in new and more dynamic ways for the rest of your life
• Why the US is the only developed country in the world in which parenthood decreases your happiness instead of increasing it
• The motherhood penalty in the workplace - PS: it’s REAL
• How PTSD prepared her for being a working mom in America
• 5 things parenthood unlocks within you that makes you more capable and marketable if you choose to leverage them
• What gives her hope for working moms in the US - and how COVID may have helped us in a certain sense

Links mentioned:

• Book: Tending: Parenthood and the Future of Work
• Connect with Amy: amyhenderson.org
• TendLab: TendLab.com
• Amy on LinkedIn
• Amy on Instagram
• Amy on Twitter
• Amy on Facebook

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