Pregnant & Promoted: How Supportive Work Cultures Can Drive Professional Growth

Originally posted on LinkedIn

On May 26, four days before my 34th birthday my husband and I got life changing news, I was pregnant. In 2022 the median age of US women giving birth hit 30, a record high. Like many millennial women opting to start families later in life I spent my 20s focused on building my career and figuring out who I was. Without a family to focus on I hustled to build my personal brand and put myself on a trajectory to reach my professional goals, achieving a c-suite title. 

In September 2020, I made the decision to join RIVA Solutions to stand up their marketing department. Last October during my 2nd annual performance review with RIVA CEO Naveen Krishnamurthy we discussed my career progression from Director to Vice President. I left the conversation with a promise that as I wrapped my 3rd year at RIVA, I would be promoted to Vice President. 

As excited as we were to receive the news of my pregnancy, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the impact to my promotion. Sadly, my fears are not unfounded. Everyday women of child baring age are penalized for taking time off to start or expand their families. It angers me when I see news stories and court cases about discriminatory actions and behaviors toward pregnant women and mothers, especially in my industry of government contracting. It’s even more disappointing when we don’t believe women or dismiss their experiences. I have always wanted to be a mom and have a successful career. Men can have both, why should women have the choose?

When I finally passed the twelve-week mark in July I started to share the good news with my co-workers. During each conversation I was met with nothing but congratulations and excitement. When I finally called Naveen, he reassured me RIVA was there to support me in my journey and was genuinely excited for me to enter the next phase of my life. While the outright support was appreciated, it didn’t shake my uncertainty about my promotion.

In August the leadership team packed up for our annual strategic offsite in Miami. During dinner the first evening, Naveen, unprompted, asked me if I was ready to step into the VP role. He reiterated my dedication and hard work over the past three years and his excitement to see me take on a new challenge. In that moment my fears evaporated, and it was reinforced to me again, why RIVA is and continues to be the right place for me.

As of writing this article I’m entering the last month of my pregnancy and two days ago I was officially promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Pregnancy and promotions should not be mutually exclusive. Women should be able to progress in their career while taking time to expand their families. While this journey has been hard mentally and physically, I am so thankful for the unwavering support I’ve received at RIVA and the flexibility I will continue to receive as a I navigate a new normal. 2024 certainly is shaping up to be a big year for me. With one promotion under my belt, I’m excited to tackle the biggest challenge yet and officially take on the title of Mom.