Edited Transcript: Samantha Sutherland

AI Generated

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Lucy: Welcome to this episode of Mumbition. Today we’re joined by Samantha Sutherland, gender equity consultant and host of the Women at Work podcast. Sam, tell us about your mission.

Sam: My ambition is a world that works for working women. The intersection of home and work has never been clearer than during COVID. When we don’t realise we’re facing structural barriers, we assume the problem is us — that we need to be smarter, more organised, more confident. My work helps women feel less alone and helps organisations remove those barriers.

Lucy: Who do you help, and how?

Sam: I work with organisations wanting to reduce their gender pay gap and improve equity. I run training, advisory programs and leadership workshops. I also coach individual women on navigating ambition, caring responsibilities, and work‑life challenges. You can’t thrive at work if things aren’t working at home.

Lucy: What led you to start your business?

Sam: After senior roles in data, risk and in women’s health advocacy, I realised gender equity was my soul’s work. A friend once asked me, “Why would you do this even if you weren’t being paid?” — and that question clarified everything. I believe women deserve to be the main character in their own lives.

Lucy: Have you noticed workplaces shifting?

Sam: There’s progress. Mandatory gender pay gap reporting and new targets are helping. But the pace is slow — last year the pay gap only shifted by 0.6%. There’s more noise about pushback than actual resistance, but globally the landscape is complex.

Lucy: Many women consider starting a business for flexibility. What should they know?

Sam: Running a business can help — but it’s not the only path to flexibility. And there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors out there. Some visible entrepreneurs aren’t financially sustainable, and comparing yourself to unrealistic examples can be damaging. Growth takes time, especially when you’re working around kids.

Lucy: What mindset shifts helped you?

Sam: Even though I coach women on confidence, I still feel fear and take risks. I keep a “100 Risks and Chances” list to push myself. I’ll call anyone for my podcast — Nobel Prize winners included — but in other areas I freeze. It’s normal to feel this way.

Lucy: What would you say to a mum whose ambition feels blocked by guilt?

Sam: First, maybe the timing genuinely isn’t right — and that’s okay. But don’t abandon your ambition. You are the centre of your own life. If you sacrifice everything, there’s no one left to care for your family. The biggest gift you can give your kids is a parent who is happy and fulfilled.

Lucy: What themes come up most in your podcast conversations?

Sam: Women want respect, fair pay, flexibility, development opportunities, and visible leadership modelling balance — loud leaving, normalising care, etc. A common thread among successful women is having a partner who shares the mental load equally.

Lucy: How do you personally manage parenting and work?

Sam: I’m divorced and do 50–50 co‑parenting. It means I have true downtime for work and rest when my son is with his dad — but I also feel guilt, especially when I need to work during my time with him. Even knowing guilt is socially constructed, I still feel it.

Lucy: Anything else our listeners should know?

Sam: Structural problems can’t be solved by individual effort alone. Flexibility shouldn’t require opting out of traditional employment. We need systems designed to support working parents, not penalise them.

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