Motherhood Advantage

Dr. Laura Marie Rivera
  • 4.6 (9)
  • Management

Explore how the concepts of Motherhood and Leadership intersect with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera. What if Motherhood is one of the most powerful leadership trainings in the world? We’ve heard about the Motherhood penalty, but what about the Motherhood Advantage?  This podcast explores the powerful connection between Motherhood and leadership. Hosted by Dr. Laura Marie Rivera, the podcast grew out of Intuitionship, a groundbreaking research study with nearly 1,000 Mothers examining how the lived experience of Motherhood shapes the way women lead, solve problems, and navigate complexity.  Each episode features thoughtful conversations with remarkable Mothers—from bestselling authors and public leaders to entrepreneurs, creators, and Mothers just beginning their journeys. Together, they explore how Motherhood cultivates skills like adaptability, empathy, resilience, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead through uncertainty.  Part research, part storytelling, and part collective exploration, Motherhood Advantage invites us to reconsider a powerful idea: the experiences that prepare Mothers to nurture, guide, and protect the next generation also prepare them to lead in policy decisions and the paid workplace.  For more information or to recommend an amazing Mother-leader, please join us @motherhoodadvantage. 

  1. 5d ago

    Motherhood is Political with Liuba Grechen Shirley

    What happens when the people making decisions about childcare, paid leave, and family policy have little firsthand experience navigating those systems as Mothers? When Liuba Grechen Shirley ran for Congress while raising two toddlers, she discovered just how poorly American politics accommodates Motherhood. Rather than accepting those barriers, she set out to change the system. In this episode of MOTHERHOOD ADVANTAGE, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Liuba, founder and CEO of Vote Mama, to explore why Mothers remain underrepresented in political leadership, what their absence means for public policy, and how caregiving can make stronger leaders. From the financial realities of running for office to the economic importance of affordable childcare and paid family leave, Liuba challenges the idea that these are simply "women's issues." They're workforce issues, economic issues, and issues that affect everyone. She also shares how Vote Mama is putting family-friendly leadership into practice within its own organization—and why electing more Mothers is only part of the goal. The real victory? Making it completely ordinary for a Mother to run for office, win, and lead. In this conversation: Why political systems make it harder for Mothers to run for officeHow lived experience shapes legislation and public policyWhy childcare and paid family leave are economic necessitiesThe leadership skills and perspectives developed through MotherhoodHow Vote Mama is modeling family-friendly workplace policiesPractical ways to support candidates and help change political representationMotherhood doesn't disqualify us from leadership. It helps prepare us for it. So why are so many of our political institutions still structured as though caregiving and leadership don't belong together? Learn more about Vote Mama: https://www.votemama.org Learn more about MOTHERHOOD ADVANTAGE and Intuitionship: https://motherhoodadvantage.com

    Motherhood is Political with Liuba Grechen Shirley

  2. Oct 5

    ON THE RECORD: Seven Mother-Authors Discuss Voice, Visibility & Authority

    What happens when Mothers tell their own stories—not as a niche, but as authors, experts, artists, and culture-makers? In this special Motherhood Advantage episode, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera welcomes seven Mother-authors whose work spans memoir, fiction, disability, career, leadership, STEM, and mythology. Dr. Keeonna Harris writes from lived experience about Motherhood, incarceration, survival, stigma, and the systems families are forced to navigate. Elsa Sjunneson challenges assumptions about disability, identity, parenting, and whose experiences are represented in our stories. Angela Bourassa talks about women’s stories, creative ambition, and making space for women to “do all the things.” Cassie Leonard examines the experiences of Mothers building careers in fields that were rarely designed around caregiving. Sharmin Banu brings a systems-thinking lens to career growth, leadership, and the complex calculus Mothers make every day. Ruschelle Khanna and Ann Priftis look to mythology and the rise of the matriarch to ask what becomes possible when women reclaim their voices and power. Together, their stories raise questions much bigger than publishing: Who gets to be considered an expert? Whose stories are treated as universal? What labor do we value? And what changes when Mothers are the ones holding the pen? Because Mother-author is not a genre. Motherhood is a point of view—and one that belongs everywhere. ------------------ Cassie Leonard Beyond The Pipeline and STEM Moms  https://www.elmmcoaching.com/press/#ourbooks  Elsa Sjunneson Dear Blind Lady and Being Seen https://www.snarkbat.com/ Dr. Keeonna Harris Mainline Mama https://www.keeonnaharris.com/writings Sharmin Banu Mid-Career Momentum https://greenleafcoach.com/ Ruschelle Khanna and Ann Priftis From Echo to Athena https://www.fromechotoathena.com/ Angela Bourassa's Never Lasting https://angelabourassa.com/ Events in Seattle Elsa Sjunneson celebrates Dear Blind Lady at The Rendezvous on October 6 at 7 p.m. Angela Bourassa will appear at Lovestruck in Seattle on October 21 to celebrate Never Lasting. On November 9, Stefanie O’Connell and I will be at Third Place Books in Seward Park. Cassie Leonard, Sharmin Banu, and Keeonna Harris will come together at Armoire for conversation and book signing on November 18. And Ann Priftis and I will be talking about her book and the great wealth transfer on December 8, location provided with RSVP. @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera - MotherhoodAdvantage.com

    ON THE RECORD: Seven Mother-Authors Discuss Voice, Visibility & Authority

  3. Sep 28

    50 Years at the Leadership Table with Dr. Patricia Gabow

    Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with Dr. Patricia Gabow, physician leader, former CEO of Denver Health, and author of The Women’s Guide to Healthcare Leadership: The Why and the How, for a candid conversation about women in leadership, workplace equity, and the powerful overlap between Motherhood and executive leadership. Drawing on decades of leadership in medicine—and more than 50 years as a Mother—Patricia explains why women need to “buy the ticket” to leadership instead of waiting until they feel completely ready. She shares how Motherhood develops many of the same capabilities organizations say they want in leaders: resilience, mentoring, budgeting, decision-making, accountability, humility, and the ability to balance compassion with decisive action. Patricia also makes an important distinction between equality and equity. If women are expected to compete on a level playing field, she argues, workplaces must address structural barriers through pay equity, paid maternity leave, and affordable, high-quality childcare. In this episode: Why women need to “buy the ticket” to leadershipHow Motherhood develops transferable leadership capabilitiesWhy equity must come before equalityThe importance of pay equity, paid leave, and affordable childcareHow effective leaders balance compassion with decisivenessWhy humility does not mean minimizing your accomplishmentsHow honest feedback and role modeling make us better leadersPatricia describes her own leadership style as a combination of “Mother Teresa and General Patton”: sometimes a leader must be the chief comforter, and sometimes a leader must take command. And through it all runs an idea at the heart of Motherhood Advantage: the skills women develop around the kitchen table belong at the leadership table, too. As Patricia puts it: “Being a Mother helped me be a CEO and being a CEO helped me be a Mother.” Her message to women considering leadership is simple: don’t wait for permission, and don’t wait until you feel perfectly prepared. Buy the ticket. BOOK GIVEAWAY: Want to win a copy of Dr. Patricia Gabow’s The Women’s Guide to Healthcare Leadership: The Why and the How? Comment on this episode or email us at motherhoodadvantage@gmail.com to be entered. The giveaway is open for the first two weeks after the episode is released.   Links: Buy The Women’s Guide to Healthcare Leadership: The Why and the How? on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4YZNTZ4?lv=shuf&channelId=510&plpRedirect=mhFallback Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-women-score-higher-than-men-in-most-leadership-skills About Motherhood Advantage At The Motherhood Advantage, we explore the research, stories, and leadership lessons that emerge when we recognize Motherhood not as a detour from leadership—but as one of its greatest teachers. If you'd like to learn more about the research or recommend a Mother, please visit us at MotherhoodAdvantage.com @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera

    50 Years at the Leadership Table with Dr. Patricia Gabow

  4. Sep 22

    Creating Community: The Magic of Mom-Centric Coworking with Lauren James

    What if we stopped asking Mothers to fit their lives around work—and started building our paid work around real life? In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera speaks with Lauren James, Mother of two, entrepreneur, and founder of Little Way Coworking, an Atlanta coworking space with on-site childcare designed around the realities of working parents. Becoming a single Mother fundamentally changed the way Lauren thought about entrepreneurship. She knew she could not build a company that required more from her than she had to give. Instead, she created a business that works for her life as a Mother—and helps other Mothers do the same. Lauren shares how Little Way reduces the invisible labor of caregiving through flexible schedules, childcare, educational activities, and even the small things parents are usually expected to anticipate themselves: diapers, wipes, snacks, baby carriers, changing tables, coffee, Wi-Fi, and more. The conversation also explores how Motherhood has shaped Lauren’s leadership. From recognizing that employees have different strengths and needs to creating a sick-day fund after experiencing firsthand what lost wages can mean for a parent, Lauren is building a workplace around a simple principle: people do their best work when their humanity is accounted for. And for anyone waiting until they have everything figured out before starting something new, Lauren offers another lesson: you can learn as you go. As she puts it: “I knew that I needed to build something that not just served other people, but it served me and served my life as a Mom.” Key Takeaways Design the business around your life—not your life around the business. Motherhood helped Lauren define what sustainable entrepreneurship needed to look like.Reducing invisible labor is a form of leadership. Thoughtful systems can remove dozens of small burdens Mothers otherwise carry alone.Leadership can look a lot like parenting at its best. Different people have different strengths, needs, and paths for growth—and good leaders respond accordingly.You don’t have to know everything before you begin. Sustainable growth can come from learning, adapting, and figuring things out along the way.A business shouldn’t depend entirely on its founder. Lauren hopes to expand Little Way by equipping other women to build locations that work for their own communities and lives. Invitation to Connect: If you’re interested in bringing a coworking-and-childcare model like Little Way to your own community, Lauren welcomes conversations with women who want to explore the idea and learn from what she’s built.   https://www.littlewayatl.com/ Or email Lauren directly at laurengordonjames@gmail.com About Motherhood Advantage At The Motherhood Advantage, we explore the research, stories, and leadership lessons that emerge when we recognize Motherhood not as a detour from leadership—but as one of its greatest teachers. If you'd like to learn more about the research or recommend a Mother, please visit us at MotherhoodAdvantage.com @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera

    Creating Community: The Magic of Mom-Centric Coworking with Lauren James

  5. Sep 14

    Mothers, Power, & Public Policy with Senator Manka Dhingra

    Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra joins Dr. Laura Marie Rivera for a conversation about Motherhood, public leadership, and what changes when lived experience has a seat at the policymaking table. Drawing on her work in the Washington State Senate, Dhingra reflects on the leadership skills Mothers bring into public life—conflict resolution, relationship-building, humility, empathy, and the ability to recognize what families actually need. The conversation also explores why representation matters. Dhingra shares examples of policies shaped by women’s lived experiences, from breast milk access for premature babies and workplace pumping accommodations to paid family leave, postpartum care, and healthy-relationship education. Together, Rivera and Dhingra examine the politics of caregiving, gender equity, bodily autonomy, and the broader case for recognizing family-friendly policies not as perks, but as essential infrastructure. Key takeawaysMotherhood develops leadership skills that translate directly into public and professional life.Lived experience can reveal policy gaps—and practical solutions—more quickly.Representation matters because people closest to a problem often see what others miss.Childcare, paid leave, postpartum care, and workplace accommodations are deeply connected to economic freedom.Women’s issues, family issues, and caregiving issues are not niche concerns; they affect everyone.Sharing power and broadening who gets to lead can produce better outcomes for families and communities. -- Senator Manka Dhingra's bio: https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/ Look up Washington State legislative district and elected officials: https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder Use this site to find your elected officials anywhere in the country: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials About Motherhood Advantage At The Motherhood Advantage, we explore the research, stories, and leadership lessons that emerge when we recognize Motherhood not as a detour from leadership—but as one of its greatest teachers. If you'd like to learn more about the research or recommend a Mother, please visit us at MotherhoodAdvantage.com @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera

    Mothers, Power, & Public Policy with Senator Manka Dhingra

  6. Sep 7

    The Corner Office Wasn't Build for Mothers with Dr. Lois Frankel

    For more than two decades, Dr. Lois Frankel’s landmark bestseller Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office has challenged women to recognize the subtle ways they may have been socialized to diminish their own authority at work. But as our understanding of gender, leadership, caregiving, and workplace inequity evolves, an important question emerges: How much should women have to change—and how much should the workplace change to better recognize the ways women already lead? In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera sits down with psychologist, executive coach, and bestselling author Dr. Lois Frankel for a thoughtful conversation about the enduring lessons of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and the realities women and Mothers are navigating today. They explore the pressure women still face to be agreeable, accommodating, and “nice”; the double standards surrounding assertiveness and ambition; and why skills like empathy, influence, coordination, relationship-building, and care are too often dismissed as “soft” rather than recognized as essential leadership capacities. The conversation also pushes beyond the question of how women can better navigate existing systems. What if some of the problem lies in the system itself? What if workplaces have been too slow to recognize the sophisticated leadership Mothers develop through caregiving—from advocacy and negotiation to crisis management, adaptability, and managing complex human systems? Frankel reflects on what has—and hasn’t—changed for women since her groundbreaking book first appeared, why women still need mentors and advocates, how organizations can create clearer pathways to advancement and better support parents and caregivers, and what this updated third edition can teach us. She also shares practical wisdom about raising confident girls, asking for opportunities, and building the next generation of women leaders. It’s a conversation that honors Frankel’s decades of work helping women claim their power while asking what the next chapter must be: not simply teaching women how to succeed within systems built without them in mind, but rethinking those systems—and expanding our understanding of what leadership looks like in the first place. In this episode: The lasting relevance of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner OfficeHow “nice girl” socialization follows women into the workplaceThe double bind around women, ambition, and assertivenessWhy leadership skills are still too often labeled “soft”Motherhood as a source of leadership developmentBetter workplace support for parents and caregivers --- About Dr. Lois Frankel: drloisfrankel.com Books mentioned: Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Dr. Lois Frankel See Jane Lead, Dr. Lois Frankel Nuture by Nature, Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger Women Don't Ask, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It's Different Than You Think), Reshma Saujani The Ambition Penalty, Stefanie O'Connell Beyond the Pipeline, edited by Cassie Leonard Backlash, Susan Faludi Women's Reality, Anne Wilson Schaef @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera - motherhoodadvantage.com

    The Corner Office Wasn't Build for Mothers with Dr. Lois Frankel

  7. Sep 2

    Motherhood, Maestras and Making Space with Composer Georgia Stitt

    What does it take to build a life big enough for Motherhood, artistic ambition, and advocacy? In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with composer, music director, and Maestra founder Georgia Stitt about creating space—for women in theater, for caregiving in professional life, and for the constant recalibration Motherhood requires. Georgia shares how noticing the absence of women in theater music departments led her to build Maestra, an organization now helping women and gender-expansive musicians become more visible, connected, and hired. She also speaks candidly about the less visible work of Motherhood: the executive function, emotional labor, logistics, and mental load required to keep a family moving while sustaining a creative career. Together, Laura Marie and Georgia explore why leadership is often less about controlling the outcome than finding deeper ways to trust and collaborate, through listening, respecting, and recalibrating when others share information. They discuss breastfeeding and caregiving in creative workplaces, sharing responsibility at home, the persistent tendency to define women’s accomplishments through the men around them, and what happens when we stop pretending that caregiving exists separately from professional life. Georgia also reflects on raising two daughters finding their own artistic paths and shares her latest creative work, including her album Bell Tower and its newly published sheet music.  A conversation about visibility, collaboration, creativity—and building a life where Motherhood doesn’t have to exist in the margins. Learn more about Georgia Stitt at georgiastitt.com Listen to the full songs mentioned in this episode at  https://georgiastitt.com/music-library/get-show-ocean/ https://georgiastitt.com/music-library/kites-children/ Connect with women, gender expansive and under-represented musical theater artists at maestramusic.org Credits: “I Get To Show You The Ocean” from THIS ORDINARY THURSDAY featuring Faith Prince for MCB on her first birthday Music and Lyrics by Georgia Stitt © 2006 Geocate Music (ASCAP) All Rights Administered by Concord Music Publishing About Motherhood Advantage At The Motherhood Advantage, we explore the research, stories, and leadership lessons that emerge when we recognize Motherhood not as a detour from leadership—but as one of its greatest teachers. If you'd like to learn more about the research or recommend a Mother, please visit us at MotherhoodAdvantage.com @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera

    Motherhood, Maestras and Making Space with Composer Georgia Stitt

  8. Aug 24

    From Infertility to Triplets with Gratitude and Grit with Denise Lieu Kakimoto

    Content note: This episode includes discussion of infertility, IVF, miscarriage, and a medically complicated pregnancy. Please listen with care. In this episode of Motherhood Advantage, Dr. Laura Marie Rivera talks with Denise Lieu Kakimoto, a Southern California educator, longtime teacher, and Mother of triplets, about infertility, perseverance, community, and the deep connection between teaching and Motherhood. Denise shares the emotional road to becoming a Mother—from fertility treatments and miscarriage to the exciting discovery that she was pregnant with triplets—and the difficult decisions, uncertainty, and extraordinary support that surrounded her pregnancy. Through it all, gratitude became a grounding force, as friends, colleagues, and community members stepped in with meals, laundry, classroom help, and the practical care her family needed. After nearly three decades as an educator, Denise also sees striking parallels between teaching and parenting. Both require patience, anticipation, modeling, flexibility, clear expectations, and the humility to recognize that children ultimately have to become who they are—not simply who we imagined they might be. Denise’s story is a reminder that Motherhood can be exhausting, complicated, and profoundly demanding while still being experienced as an extraordinary privilege—and that some of our greatest strength is built not by getting everything right, but by continuing to show up. Key Takeaways Motherhood can be both deeply demanding and deeply valued. For Denise, years of infertility shaped her enduring sense of Motherhood as a privilege rather than something she takes for granted.Community is a form of resilience. Practical support—from meals and laundry to simply showing up—can fundamentally change how a family moves through a difficult season.Teaching and Motherhood develop many of the same leadership skills: patience, modeling, anticipation, communication, adaptability, and knowing when to step back.Resilience does not require perfection. Denise’s philosophy is simple and powerful: “I will screw up, but I will not give up.”--- Find Denise on Instagram: dkakimoto Infertility & Family-Building Support If Denise’s story resonates with your own fertility journey, RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association offers free peer support groups, information, and resources for people experiencing infertility and navigating family building.   https://resolve.org/ ReproductiveFacts.org, from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), provides patient-focused information about infertility, IVF, fertility preservation and other reproductive-health topics, plus a directory for finding reproductive-health professionals.   https://www.reproductivefacts.org/ About Motherhood Advantage At The Motherhood Advantage, we explore the research, stories, and leadership lessons that emerge when we recognize Motherhood not as a detour from leadership—but as one of its greatest teachers. If you'd like to learn more about the research or recommend a Mother, please visit us at MotherhoodAdvantage.com @MotherhoodAdvantage with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera

    From Infertility to Triplets with Gratitude and Grit with Denise Lieu Kakimoto
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4.6
out of 5
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About

Explore how the concepts of Motherhood and Leadership intersect with Dr. Laura Marie Rivera. What if Motherhood is one of the most powerful leadership trainings in the world? We’ve heard about the Motherhood penalty, but what about the Motherhood Advantage?  This podcast explores the powerful connection between Motherhood and leadership. Hosted by Dr. Laura Marie Rivera, the podcast grew out of Intuitionship, a groundbreaking research study with nearly 1,000 Mothers examining how the lived experience of Motherhood shapes the way women lead, solve problems, and navigate complexity.  Each episode features thoughtful conversations with remarkable Mothers—from bestselling authors and public leaders to entrepreneurs, creators, and Mothers just beginning their journeys. Together, they explore how Motherhood cultivates skills like adaptability, empathy, resilience, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead through uncertainty.  Part research, part storytelling, and part collective exploration, Motherhood Advantage invites us to reconsider a powerful idea: the experiences that prepare Mothers to nurture, guide, and protect the next generation also prepare them to lead in policy decisions and the paid workplace.  For more information or to recommend an amazing Mother-leader, please join us @motherhoodadvantage. 

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Laura Marie Rivera
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr. Laura Marie Rivera
  • Show Website
    Motherhood Advantage