Sher-Li Torrey

Having worked in the career services sector for many years, Sher-Li was always drawn to the idea of creating a fair employment space, in particular for women. After becoming a mother, she recognised that many of the job opportunities out there were not very mum-friendly. It was difficult for women to ask for flexible work arrangements. And if they chose to step out of the workforce, the career gap was a huge barrier to them returning into a role which they previously left.

Hence Mums@Work was started in 2010 as a platform to make known such work-family-balance career options. Thereafter, she started to include Mumpreneurs as part of our community. This was a group of women business owners who often ran their companies from home, so that they could also take on their mothering duties at the same time. The community expanded significantly. Over the years, they have received numerous requests from non-mothers who asked for the same support and services.

So, in 2016, their subsidiary, Career navigators (which is open to all females) was created. Since then they have partnered many firms to provide the work-family-balance jobs sought out by females. They have also been successful in supporting women returning to work. For the Mumpreneurs, their numerous projects and partnerships with bigger firms has allowed them to grow in their marketing, financing and outreach efforts.

Artist: Lauren Russo, from Canada