Tassie mums launch parent village to bring parents back into workforce
The Parents Hub hopes to be more than a co-working space, it would be a place where mums can find their village and thrive. Hear from the women behind it.
Tasmania
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Hundreds of working mums have put their hand up to join in on this collective working space – it offers one of the biggest hurdles facing working families – flexible childcare.
The Parent Hub was founded by Madi Clark, a mum of two young children.
She has a vision of a collective workspace that offers flexible childcare but also career workshops.
Ms Clark said it all started with the Mum Connection Facebook group.
“It was a supportive community for mums that focused around connection and support but also career,” she said.
It was Ms Clark’s personal experience, struggling to find childcare for her nine-month old, that sparked the idea.
“I’m working from home, so I try to juggle her and work,” she said.
“It’s really played a lot on my mental health because although my employer is flexible, I don’t get much done.”
Ms Clark said she struggled with work satisfaction and also mum guilt.
But she’s not alone.
“Parents say they would love this because it’s not just a co-working space,” she said.
“We want to be running workshops and have that community – you know they say, it takes a village, we’re building that village.”
The hub would offer flexible childcare, which Ms Clark said was a big draw for parents.
Another struggle new mums face in the workplace was breastfeeding.
Ms Clark said mums often stop breastfeeding because they can’t pump at work or they’re children no longer latch on.
“You’re in the toilet trying to pump and store the milk somewhere,” she said.
“We want things to change around that.”
The Parent Hub will also focus on mum’s mental wellbeing, because a struggle as a new mother can be losing your identity, Ms Clark said.
“You do become just mum and it helps your mental health, having an identity away from mum,” she said.
“Having a support network and validating those feelings trying to juggle being a mum and going back to work, would make mums thrive.”
The next stage is looking for funding. Ms Clark said she was working with local governments to get the hub off the ground.
“We’re looking at a $300,000 project,” she said.
Ms Clark wants to launch a small pilot with space for around 10 mums.
To keep up with the hub’s journey, follow TheMumConnectionTas on Instagram.
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Originally published as Tassie mums launch parent village to bring parents back into workforce
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