About us

 

Joy Davey (Co-founder of Women Who Work)

I returned to work as a lawyer full time after having both my first (in 2020) and second (in 2022) daughters. I was promoted to Partner at a new law firm during my second maternity leave - a new firm and new role with two young children has been a fascinating challenge!

Returning to work both times was amazing - I got back my independence and sense of self-worth. If anything, I was, and am, more ambitious than ever.

I was fascinated that it seemed to surprise people that I returned full time; why is this when my husband returned to work full time after 2 weeks? Looking back, maternity leave was not for me, but I had never heard any other woman say that out loud; why is this?

I luckily met Alexandra whilst on my first maternity leave who had similar feelings to me. We did, and do not, want our careers to be put ‘on ice’ whilst having children. Indeed, we have both been promoted since returning to work!

Childcare issues can be challenging but we have found different solutions and we believe we can help other women by sharing these solutions.

We want to create a forum to discuss these issues, to help other women navigate the challenges and ultimately to help encourage and support wonderful women to senior positions. Let’s invest in our careers. Children are amazing but so is life after, and during, children.

 

Alexandra Buchan-Heelas (Co-founder of Women Who Work)

I work as an Investment Manager and have two young daughters born in 2020 and 2022. My husband and I both work full time and our daughters is both attend full-time nursery in London.

 I really enjoy my job and am lucky to have a fantastic team around me who are super-supportive. That being said, there have certainly been challenges along the way as I am sure there have been for many women before me. 

 Joy and I immediately connected when we met on our first maternity leave and enjoyed spending time together with our daughters. We have both had different experiences of maternity leave, the return to work, and the childcare options so hopefully we can bring some of that to life.

 I have always been passionate about supporting other women, and indeed always been hugely grateful for the help I have received. Joy and I think there is an opportunity to create a network which can help women connect, share experiences, support each other, and make a challenging period of life a bit more manageable. We want to be successful, and we want to see more and more women be successful too. If we can help that process even in a small way then we will have succeeded.

Mhoraig Blair (Scottish mentoring programme leader) 

I am a Senior Director at Coalition Greenwich, a Global Capital Markets Data & Analytics firm. I have three wonderful boys aged 6, 4, and 1 and each return to work has been a different experience to navigate. Having been in Capital Markets for nearly 15 years living in London and New York, I now work remotely from home in Edinburgh and frequently travel for work. What felt exciting and glamorous in my twenties,  has had its ups and downs since becoming a mum - from relishing the silence of a hotel room solo wisps of my former self reappearing to long-haul travel delays, missed connections and no bassinets available with a teething baby (yes, often the babies came with me.) 

With the travel and unpredictability of my work (plus my determination to breastfeed beyond 6 months while working full-time), we opted for a nanny to support our family. My husband also works full-time as a Finance Director, so our conversations seem to be dominated by continual arbitration on who is cancelling meetings when a child is sick, turning up late when dogs have vet trips and trying to keep us afloat on the admin which absolutely no one wants to do (and we are only talking the essential admin!). We’re fortunate to have family support which has also been a lifeline, sporadic but there when we needed it most. Having the right support network, in whatever form it comes, is key to succeeding at work and home. 

To give you an insight into why I’m here I’ll share some stats and stories (it’s the data analyst in me!) In 2011 women made up only 9.5% of members of the boards of FTSE 350 companies…in February 2023 we reached a target of 40% three years early (reference FTSE Women Leaders Review 2024). We have come a long way since the 1940s when my granny married and was told her employment was terminated so she could focus on being a wife and mother. However, much remains to be done to create a truly inclusive working environment where women do not feel they have to choose between family and careers. Supporting Joy and Alsi in their mission to create a peer network of women-supporting-women to thrive whilst juggling a family and career is my way of contributing to this important change. To help women feel empowered to pursue their ambitions without compromise.

Kirsten Partridge (Scottish mentoring programme leader)

I am a Partner in a law firm specialising in commercial property.  I have one young daughter born in 2022 and at the other end of the spectrum, an older stepdaughter born in 2005.  My husband recently started a new career as a paramedic – juggling university, placements and now shift work along with a toddler and 4 dogs has been one of the hardest, albeit rewarding, challenges that I have faced.

Our daughter attends full time nursery in a village outside of Glasgow while I split my week working from home in rural Ayrshire and from the office in Glasgow City Centre.  What we lack in family support is made up for by very supportive colleagues and friends.  

I work at the same firm at Joy and returned from maternity leave not long after she joined. When I heard about Women Who Work, I immediately contacted her to see how we could emulate the success in London to help and support women in senior positions in Scotland and here we are...

Much like Joy, I didn’t enjoy maternity leave and it was a breath of fresh air to hear someone else say that and acknowledge that while this is a challenging period of life, that doesn’t mean that your career or ambitions have to stop. 

It really does “take a village” and that village doesn’t stop when you return to work although it might look a bit different from the one that you had in the newborn days.  I’m really looking forward to helping other women in Scotland in senior positions to find that village and hopefully thrive (not just survive) on their to return to work after maternity leave.