Being a Working Mother, With Diana Tucker • FIIT Collective

Diana Tucker is the pinnacle of what working mothers can achieve. She’s the MuleSoft Channels and Alliances Director for ANZ and JPAC. This would be a highly challenging role on its own, yet, somehow, she manages to do it while raising 4 children.

Diana Tucker has it all.

She’s had a long and successful career in tech. She’s worked for industry giants like Microsoft, and today, she’s the Channels and Alliances Director for ANZ and JPAC at Mulesoft.

As well as working this demanding job, Diana is the attentive mother to 4 children. So, how does she do it?

In our chat she shared her secrets to success, and her advice for those looking to follow her lead.

Working Mothers Need to Pace Themselves

Diana points out that acceptance and balance are the keys to success. As she says:

You can have bursts in your career. You can’t be sprinting all the time. It really is a marathon, not a sprint”
– Diana Tucker

This was very much the case after Diana had her first child. For the 8 years following she worked part time, and in less demanding roles.

Although it delayed her career progression, slowing down enabled her to prioritise parenting. She knew she couldn’t do it all at once, so she paced herself and sought out external help when needed.

The Role of Male Allies

Diana also stressed the important supporting role male allies play. She singled out two key types of allies: managers and partners.

Male managers support their female employees by granting additional maternity leave and offering flexibility. They do this while ensuring women get access to projects that will challenge them and help advance their career.

Partners need to take on their fair share of the physical and mental load involved in keeping a home running. Diana recommends men take paternity leave and be the primary carer for a few months to understand what it’s like.

Being a working mum is one of the most requested podcast topics from our listeners, so it was a joy to finally tackle it. I feel particularly blessed to have had on such a wonderful, and qualified, guest to discuss it.

In this episode we cover:

Diana’s career journey from Project Manager, to Director of Channels and Alliances, Australia and New Zealand at Mulesoft – including how she accelerated her career after having kids
How saying yes to opportunities that scared her resulted in career success
We discuss how some of her male mentors helped accelerate her career, and the most important characteristic a male ally can learn to support women in the workplace
Diana shares her experience in attempting to stop work multiple times to be a full time Mum, and why she ended up returning back to work
Diana provides some great practices she uses to manage her career in tech, with her duties as a Mum
She shares her advice for women who experience guilt after returning from maternity leave, leaving their child at daycare, leaving work early, or missing their child when they’re sick
How Mulesoft helped expectant mothers and parents
The benefits working mothers provide an organisation
And so much more!

Episode Resources

Diana Tucker on LinkedIn
Mulesoft Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram
Book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
Working Mothers Course, Blissful Bread Winner
Book, Thrive – Arianna Huffington
Book, Shifting Gears – Robin Rose

[Full Disclaimer: Some of these links may be affiliate links, which means we receive compensation, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase through the link.]

Subscribe to The Females In Tech Show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn

Thank you for listening

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you. Thank you for taking the time to listen to the Females in Tech Show.

My aim is to inspire and support you to reach your goals, and provide you with practical tips on how to be the best version of yourself.

If you did enjoy the show, then I’d like to ask three things, so I can inspire and support more career motivated women ( and men).

SUBSCRIBE: search for “The Females in Tech Show” in your favourite podcast app (eg. Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Stitcher), and subscribe to the show to ensure you never miss an episode.
REVIEW: write a review for the show in your favourite podcast app telling us what you love, and also where we can improve.
SHARE: this episode with friends and colleagues who might benefit from the content, as well as grow and support our community.

How can we better serve you?

Ultimately the show is for you, the females in tech community, which begs the question… How can we better serve you?

Tell us what topics you’d like to learn more about, or will help advance your career in technology. Complete the form at this link and suggest a podcast topic.

I’ll be sure to give you a shout out in the podcast episode if your topic is chosen.