Why Moms Are Tech’s Secret Weapon

We Know How to Delegate

As a Product Owner, a critical part of my role is understanding and respecting the scope of my practice. My job is to get the right brains in the right room, solving the right problems. I’m not about to start making changes in Figma or whipping up API endpoints – I humbly and respectfully know where my limitations lie.

And why, dear reader, is that such a comfortable role to play? Because I live in a house run by toddlers, where my expertise remains pretty narrow most of the time anyway. And the motto of this household? Whenever and wherever possible, I outsource that sh*t. Groceries are ordered through an app and delivered on the doorstep. Laundry is done a few hours a week by wonderful college students. The lawn care is hired out. Even the dog walker is booked through an app. As a working mom, I know the limitations of what I physically and mentally can do in a day, and let me tell you, there are many. I’d rather sacrifice some dollars and some pride, and bring in a specialist whenever possible. 

Context Switch? What’s That? 

A mom’s brain was made to fire on all cylinders simultaneously. You won’t catch me overwhelmed by juggling multiple client needs at once, regardless of how different their project scopes may be. Why? I just booked a 4-year-old’s birthday party while staying engaged with a dev demo, responding to a client email and low-key shopping the latest Target markdowns. Context switching? Psh. All engines go, baby. 

We’re Master Decision Makers

Working in Product means making lots of quick decisions. What’s the priority between these stories? What’s the preferred user path on this flow? Which feature should we tackle next? The pressure of these decisions doesn’t phase me. What really gets my blood pumping? A split second decision on which way to peel a 2-year-old’s banana. Which pajamas to recommend. Whether to serve milk or water with dinner. Let me tell you, there’s no client angrier than the one you created yourself. 

– Sarah with her youngest son, Miles, right after The Kentucky Hug went live.

Our Waking Hours Align With All Time Zones

One of the *joys* of littles is the inconsistency with which they sleep. This serves as a real asset when working with offshore teams. Need to do an overnight deployment? Happy to run some smoke tests, I’ll be up anyway. I took small pleasure in freaking out the European dev teams when I’d pop into a Slack conversation at 4am Eastern time, while up for an overnight infant feed. Teams, consider this your fair warning when I welcome baby number three this fall. ?

We Bring the Magic to the Details

Picture this: it’s the weekend before Christmas, and you’re a small child. You awake in your Santa pajamas that match your siblings, and race down the stairs to search for the Elf on the Shelf in his latest clever hiding spot. Seasonally decorated pancakes are cooking, a holiday playlist is playing, and later everyone will head out to attend some sort of holiday-themed family activity. It’s pure childhood magic. And who had the foresight to conceive of, plan and execute these ideas? Who thought through each tiny detail, which, when spun together, set the scene for a cherished childhood memory? A mom, that’s who.

And when you have her on your professional team, she’s taking that same seasoned eye and applying it to the millions of details that comprise the full picture of a project. She’s thinking through and solving for user edge cases, assessing UI from different angles, and working to ensure that the final outcome is everything she expects it to be: magic. 

We Eat Blockers for Breakfast

Nobody solves problems like a mom. When it comes to our babies, professional or personal, we don’t take no for an answer when something gets in the way. When a story drifts into the ‘blocked’ swim lane, there’s nothing this caffeine-fueled honey badger won’t do to get it moving again. Period.

Aside from what moms can bring to the sticky, toy-covered, working-from-home table of the tech world, this industry comes with a culture that can be incredibly beneficial to the working parent. Despite horror stories from Silicon Valley and the world of FAANG, the rest of us have the opportunity to find places like Slingshot, where work-life balance is not only possible, but encouraged. To bring it full circle, below are a few points on why tech is also great for moms. 

– Sarah tries to entertain her oldest son, Zane, in the middle of the workday.

Cutting Edge Benefits

In an effort to attract the best talent, the tech sector tends to be the trend-setter when it comes to great intangible benefits. We were working in pajamas way before 2020, and the concept of unlimited PTO is nothing new here. Overall, the management mentality of ‘treat your employees like adults who are responsible for their own time’ seemed to generate from the tech world, and can be a beautiful cultural fit for the working parent. Plus, nobody appreciates the ability to take meetings from their couch more than a pregnant person in their third trimester (?‍♀️). 

Competitive Pay

To quote another working parent, Cardi B, “I got a baby, I need some money – I need cheese for my egg!”. The tech industry is known for making sure their employees are fairly compensated, which is important, because these kids aren’t cheap. Just the cost of fruit consumption in my house alone is enough to keep my nose to the grindstone. 

We Need You! 

Women make up barely 25% of workers in the tech industry. To make things more bleak, just 11% of tech leadership roles are held by women. We know that kids often don’t conceive of a career possibility they don’t see themselves represented in. It’s our responsibility as an industry to provide that representation, and bring a more diverse selection of brains to the table. In 2023 – The Year of The Barbie Movie – there’s no conceivable reason we can’t bring more women into the tech sector. (p.s. – you can learn more about Slingshot career opportunities here ?).

– Photos of Sarah’s children and her work over the years.