Millennial boss ‘shamed’ for not taking maternity leave: ‘It’s selfish’

A Millennial boss who didn’t take maternity leave after the birth of her first child has opened up about her controversial decision.

Jessy Marshall and her husband Michael welcomed their son Leo in March, but six years before their “delicious boy” arrived, Jessy had another baby: her very own business.

The 35-year-old launched Hive HQ , a boutique PR and events agency based in Sydney, in 2018 – describing the publicity firm as her “first born”.

Jessy has spent thousands of hours pouring her “blood, sweat and tears” into getting the agency off the ground, and now boasts some of Australia’s biggest brands as clients, including the recently viral tbh Skincare .

However, Hive is still very much a small business, employing just six staff – requiring Jessy to be “very hands on”.

So when she fell pregnant with Leo, it left her with a difficult decision: “Should I take parental leave or keep working?”

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She chose the latter, a move that has subsequently left her “judged” by strangers, something the new mom is determined to fight back on.

“After I spoke about working through my maternity leave on social media, I received comments from people stating ‘it’s selfish you are putting your business before your child’ and suggesting that if I ‘can’t handle the mental load of a newborn’, I shouldn’t have become a mom,” she told news.com.au.

“There’s so much judgement placed on mothers as well as taboos about non-traditional ways to raise a child.

“Even before I had Leo, I’d been met with continuous questions on when I was stopping, how long for, why I wasn’t slowing down,” she said.

“While I am sure the questions were coming from a good place, I’ve found it incredibly hard and at times, it has been difficult to block out the judgment.”

In Australia, parents can take up to 12 months off, and receive up to 22 weeks Parental Leave Pay (PPL), which is paid at the National Minimum Wage.

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But Jessy, who is self-employed, opted to continue working for her business, transitioning from her full-time office role into a flexible arrangement that works for her as a mother and a CEO.

“My business is completely bootstrapped, I grew it from absolutely nothing, and I want it to continue to have wins even if I am not physically in the office every day,” she said.

“Regardless of what some people say about balance, that means I needed to be available, working both on and in the business and supporting my team.

“Whilst it is ‘untraditional’, it works for us, but it’s been interesting seeing other mothers be quite vocal, accusing me of doing the wrong thing,” she said.

“I have a great support network as Michael, who also runs his own business, is very hands on. If I am not with Leo, he is.

“Some may criticize us, but I think we’re the lucky ones to not be restricted by a 9-5 job.”

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Jessy said her clients, which include popular Aussie beauty brands BondiBoost, Naked Sundays, Bangn Body, as well as Real Housewives of Sydney star Sally Obermeder’s wellness brand SWIISH, have supported her decision to remain “on the tools” too.

There have also been many who have reacted positively to Jessy’s decision, with some even stating they “wished they’d had the opportunity” to work flexibly, due to money stresses.

Indeed, the financial burden of taking 12 months off can prove extremely difficult for some families, with data showing around 45 per cent of mothers return to work within the first six months of giving birth.

Even then their earnings are reduced, with women cutting back their hours of paid work by around 35 per cent across the first five years following the arrival of children. The same government data shows raising children impacts a mother’s retirement income too, having around 25 per cent less money in their superannuation than men.

One things for sure, Jessy has “no regrets” about jumping straight back into work after welcoming Leo.

“There is definitely a feeling of pressure to parent a certain way, but there is not one way to raise children,” she said.

“I’ve chosen to have Leo fit into our life as much as he can, and we love it this way. Sure there are times where it would be nice to be with Leo and not worry about anything else.

“But I love what I do, and I know for me I couldn’t have handled another way.

“When challenges arise, Michael and I facing them together, I couldn’t think of a better life lesson for our little boy.”

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