Meg Faure
Host | Occupational Therapist and Infant Specialist
With over 25 years of experience, Meg is the founder of Parent Sense and Play Sense and co-author of eight parenting titles including Baby Sense and Sleep Sense.
Lunch & Learn | Professional development webinar series
The Return-to-Work Advantage
Supporting mothers, strengthening business.
Hosted by Meg Faure with Alexa Starks, Denise Heavy and Phillipa Geard
- Friday, 23 October 2026
- 12:00 (UK) | 13:00 (SAST)
- Online Zoom webinar
This webinar is formally accredited for CPD purposes. A certificate of attendance will be issued to all professionals who attend the live session. *Subject to approval
Reserve my spot
Register for free and we'll send you the Zoom link.
Join us for the Parent Sense Lunch & Learn, our monthly webinar series for professionals, as Meg Faure hosts Alexa Starks, Denise Heavy and Phillipa Geard to explore why supporting mothers back to work is one of the smartest retention decisions an organisation can make.
Many mothers leave their jobs in the year after having a baby, and organisations absorb the cost of replacing them, often far more than the cost of supporting them would have been.
This panel brings together research, recruitment and coaching perspectives from South Africa, the UK and Jersey, and the US and Europe. Together, they'll look at how many people this affects, where and why mothers leave, and what it costs, to the organisation and to her.
They'll also turn the conversation around. Research shows motherhood strengthens leadership skills such as resilience, negotiation and crisis management, so mothers often return more capable than when they left. The question is how to keep them.
Whether you work in HR, recruitment, employee wellbeing, healthcare or leadership, you'll leave with a clear business case and practical steps you can put in place straight away.
What you'll learn
During this session we'll explore:
- How many people in the workforce are affected by working parenthood, and how often mothers take career breaks and return.
- The points where mothers are most likely to resign, and what drives those decisions.
- What it really costs an organisation to lose a mother after maternity leave.
- Why mothers often return with stronger leadership skills, and why confidence dips anyway.
- What South Africa, the UK and Jersey, and the US can learn from each other's maternity systems.
Practical application
You'll leave with:
- A clear, evidence-based business case for investing in return-to-work support.
- A practical framework for a documented maternity leave and return-to-work plan, agreed before leave begins.
- Ideas for phased returns, flexible roles and keeping in touch during leave.
- Ways to recognise and frame the skills mothers bring back to the workplace.
Meet your speakers
Alexa Starks
Founder of Motherd Media | United States
Alexa specialises in maternity leave and return-to-work support and workplace redesign. Her original research includes the Maternal Strengths Report and the Future of Working Motherhood report.
Denise Heavy
Founder of Mentorhood | Jersey
Career guidance specialist, recruiter and founder of Mentorhood in Jersey, Denise runs specialist-led courses that prepare parents for their return and works with employers and policymakers on family-friendly practice.
Phillipa Geard
Founder of RecruitMyMom | South Africa
Phillipa has connected South African mothers with flexible, meaningful work since 2012. RecruitMyMom publishes the annual Working Women in South Africa report.
Losing a new mother is costly. Keeping her doesn't have to be complicated.
Join us to hear directly from the experts, and leave with strategies you can put into practice straight away.
Reserve my spot