What happens when you have the career of your dreams, but you also want to fulfill your lifetime dream of having a child? Can you manage to do both? Will your career even allow it? And what happens if your plan to grow your family turns out to be more difficult then you expected, will your employer support you along the way?
Many women, especially those with high pressure or inflexible jobs, find themselves having to choose between their careers and their dream families. Whether it’s trying to get pregnant, undergoing fertility treatments, or taking care of your children, expanding your family can take a lot out of you, and often shifts your focus away from your job. All of these factors may drive women out of the workforce, especially if their workplace is not supportive of their family building needs.
In today’s episode, we hear from Jenny Galluzzo, who left her career in television journalism behind in order to grow her family. Jenny shares her family building journey with us, including what it was like enduring rounds of IVF, getting pregnant and taking care of her two young boys, and eventually feeling ‘a hunger’ for working again. But after being out of the workforce for almost 3 years, she found herself asking: What is my value? Who’s going to hire me? And what am I really qualified to do?
Jenny co-founded The Second Shift, an online platform that connects highly-skilled women seeking flexible work options to businesses that need employees for short-term, high-profile projects. She shares with us the importance of putting women in leadership positions, but also changing the status quo for all working women who wish to prioritize both their jobs and their families.
Guest: Jenny Galluzzo, Co-Founder of The Second Shift
Host: Janelle Branch, Patient Care Advocate at Progyny
For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and The Second Shift.
To ask your HR/benefits team for a fertility benefit, visit Talk to HR to start the conversation.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility.
Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.