About

Returning to work after maternity leave, I underestimated how hard it would be.

If you’re here, I’m guessing you can relate. I didn’t expect to love being a Mum so much and wasn’t prepared to feel torn between my baby and a career I loved. I constantly felt in conflict, wishing I could be in two places at once – at home with George and at the same time, in the office, doing my job.

On top of this, I’d returned to a bigger role, which I was doing in compressed hours and had terrible sleep deprivation.

I didn’t have clear boundaries as I was so used to being available for work; I also didn’t expect my confidence to take a dive. I felt like an imposter, not meeting my expectations at work or as a mother.

As the months continued I saw that my experience and being torn between family and career were far from unique.

I could see an undercurrent of stress, anxiety, grit, exhaustion, frustration and a feeling of being taken for granted amongst so many other women. Of having to look like a “happy perfect Mum”, when this was far from how we felt.

After nearly hitting rock bottom, I decided to take charge

One particularly challenging day, when I didn’t have the confidence to say no to a last-minute meeting request on my day off in the middle of breastfeeding (with no childcare and a six-month baby) I realised something had to change.

I decided to take back control, figuring out how to advocate for myself and feel more confident doing so. The strategies and tools I use now forms the basis of the work I do with professional women globally.

And that’s how The Women’s Vault was born. My mission is to to help more women into leadership roles, including helping professional women return to work after maternity leave/career breaks and opening up diversity and inclusion communications within organisations to facilitate change.

My coaching and training methods work successfully for women in corporate jobs.

I’ve now taught this method to hundreds of women – because I know exactly what it’s like to lack confidence, not know how to set or communicate boundaries and feel overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted.

Today I work with women individually and within organisations across the world at all different stages of their career on things such as Imposter Syndrome and confidence, boundary setting, negotiation (from pay rises to flexible work), personal brand and profiling and presentation skills.

I am regularly asked to speak at forums and events on these topics.

In my former corporate life, I managed corporate communications for publicly listed companies in Australia and the UK, including multiple household name brands: Kellogg’s, Bank of America, Barclays, Westpac Banking Corporation & Australian Federal Government Departments. If you’d like me to speak at your event, or Women’s Network, get in touch via my Contact page.

Right now I live in London with my son, George and husband, Peter.