Mothers and caregivers in business: Duelling responsibilities

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Though women are becoming more visible and vocal about their roles as founders and leaders, they still often also fulfill traditional gender expectations around motherhood and caregiving. With these dual roles, women can face added pressures and responsibilities, beyond those that leaders in family businesses already face.

Women were almost four times more likely than men to take on caregiver roles (79 per cent versus 22 per cent of men), even before the pandemic, according to Statistics Canada.

While this adds pressure on two separate fronts, women’s traditional nurturing roles also “can translate to a role as ‘chief emotional officer,’ adding to the success and perpetuity of the family business,” according to a recent KPMG study, The power of women in family business. At the same time, “Women in family businesses are continuing to work on role conflicts to pave their own path in the business and the family and resist being designated only as the family caregiver.”

Here, two experts and female leaders share their thoughts on mothers and caregivers as leaders in family enterprise.

Janice McDonald, founder of Ottawa-based The Beacon Agency Inc.

Janice McDonald is the founder of Ottawa-based The Beacon Agency Inc., a strategic consulting firm, and the creator and host of Fearless Women podcast and author of the bestselling book Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision.

She has won a number of awards for her work as an entrepreneur and strategic advisor, including the 2018 Inspiring Fifty Award – Women in Tech, the 2017 WIT-Los Angeles Award: Global Trade Ambassador for Canada, 2016 WXN Hall of Fame Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and an honorary doctorate from Carleton University. She has an MA, MFA and an ICD.D director’s designation.

A leader in an entrepreneurial family, she is a serial entrepreneur and has founded businesses in diverse areas, from music to co-working spaces and apparel accessories.

As a mother and caregiver in family enterprise, did you feel pressure or anxiety as you were establishing your career?

“I absolutely felt pressure and had worries as a new mother and career woman.

When I had my first child, the business was fast-growing and demanding. I was clear on my values but unsure how to make it all work.

Other businesswomen helped me make sense of the competing pressures by offering advice, connections and perspective.

At work, I learned to seek out and work with top talent who could deliver and to lean on my community for support at home. There’s so much kindness and generosity available but we have to be willing to ask for help.

Sometimes I was able to go on the school field trips and at other times, different parents took the lead. My children are more resilient and well-rounded because of the exposure to other caring adults and I’m grateful to the many families who shared the load.”

How has that experience shaped your career?

“I’m a serial entrepreneur. My first business was in the music industry, and it was a thrilling ride. Since then, I started and have grown many different businesses in various industries.

The Beacon Agency Inc. is a boutique firm that focuses on leadership training and coaching, strategic advisory services and research. More and more women are choosing entrepreneurship, whether in an existing family business or striking out on their own.

While it is a demanding career path, it offers many benefits and opportunities for women. Canada is a wonderful country for women entrepreneurs, with lots of support in the ecosystem for growth.

As a co-author of three national studies on women entrepreneurs in Canada – in 2016 on risk, 2018 on innovation and 2020 on export – I know how important it is to be connected to other entrepreneurs and to support that is available.

I’ve benefitted immensely from having a circle of trusted advisors and business leaders who offer insights, connections and a fresh perspective. I can lean on them and know they’re in my corner. It’s been invaluable in my career and for my business.”

Susan St. Amand, Chair of Family Enterprise Canada and third-generation entrepreneur

Susan St. Amand is chair of FEC (Family Enterprise Canada) and the Executive in Residence of the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute at the University of Ottawa, Telfer Business School. With TEP, FEA, ICD.D designations, she is a third-generation entrepreneur in business for 32 years.

What questions come to mind when you think about the different expectations on women versus men in family enterprise?

“Have you ever wondered why on Mother’s Day people celebrate moms by hosting or attending a brunch or family event? Why on Father’s Day is the focus often around a day for dad to golf or go fishing then sometimes return home for family barbeque? Even Hallmark cards are distinctly focused on diverging roles.

I love to golf on Mother’s Day – it is often the quietest day on the golf course. In contrast, Father’s Day is often the busiest.”

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Family and business intersect in family enterprise, but are there gendered assumptions about roles in one or the other?

“In the family enterprise world, we often refer to the integration of three interconnected but distinct systems – the family system, the ownership system, and the business system – each one intersecting with the others (Tagiuri and Ward, 1982).

In each of these systems we tend to think of the leadership roles as individuals who lead the system – what is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word leadership?

In a business context we often think of a CEO or senior executive leading the business operations and our visual may or may not include women. What about our assumptions when it comes to parents? Does our visual include mothers and fathers equally?”

How is leadership different for mothers and caregivers?

“A mother must navigate her leadership roles through the various ages and stages of their lives, which include reproductive years that are often aligned with the natural acceleration of leadership roles in a business career path.

If the mother turns her focus to the family leadership and scales back the business leadership, they will often stall their leadership path in the business and increase their responsibilities in the family system.

The ownership system may remain equal, but the minimized involvement in the business and increased responsibility to the family will often impact the credibility in decision making in the ownership circle.

When it comes to decisions around money, business or ownership, a common visual in a family context is the father as the main negotiator, decision maker, the chair of the board.”

How do societal expectations play into the roles men and women take, across generations, in family enterprise?

“The privilege of ownership comes with responsibility and accountability, for both mom and dad in family enterprise. We tend to fall into patterns, inter-generational patterns that embed themselves into our lives and create expectations of specific roles.

In a family context, our minds often shift to the mother’s role and responsibility for the children and the parents – caregiving of generations before, after and yet to come.

The societal expectation or norm is most frequently that the father will carry on in the business and making ownership decisions during the peak career path acceleration years when the mother takes on more and more of the family responsibilities.

Those of us who are mothers know what a privilege it is to carry a child from conception to delivery, to hold your baby in your arms and engage with your children as they grow. We are happy to take on the responsibility of parenthood and happy to share it with the other parent (whatever the gender).

Those of us who have ownership in our family business and leadership in the business operations also feel the responsibility and accountability to the systems that will care for our family for generations to come.”

What are some of the characteristics that make mothers and caregivers in family enterprise so exceptional?

“Always juggling – integrating the responsibility for family with the responsibility of ownership and the accountability to the leadership team in the business operations.

Mothers create pathways to navigate through the systems focused on a sustainable future for the family to thrive, learning and educating intergenerational wisdom, telling family stories, and creating memorable moments.

Mothers are superheroes – thriving in the chaos of integrating of leadership roles and intergenerational responsibilities between family, ownership and business, as they pass through the various ages and stages of life.”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

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