#IWD2025: Support is a team sport
When our Head of Events Vicki Hooper came back from maternity leave, she wondered how her busy role would coexist with her new job as a mum. Six months later, here’s what she’s learned about support and flexibility.
I’ve spent the better part of two decades in the events industry. From full-scale product launches to international conferences and everything in between.
This business teaches you how to thrive in unpredictable, high-pressure situations. Late nights, early mornings, constant on-the-spot problem-solving - I remember thinking it was the perfect training ground for the early days of motherhood.
Wrong. Nothing prepares you. I was utterly confident in my ability and rock solid in my knowledge, but suddenly, none of my experience applied. Having a baby is hard. Thank goodness for shared parental leave.
We knuckled down, got into new rhythms, learned to live as a family. It was beautiful in its way. I stayed in touch with the team, celebrated their wins with them, offered moral support, suggestions and ideas where I could. And before I knew it, it was time to come back.
I was ready – I’d missed it, my amazing colleagues, the hustle, the purpose, wearing grown up clothes… And today, I’ve been back for nearly six months on a flexible four-day week. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve found ways to make it work.
I’m Head of Events at Bray Leino Events. I’m also a Mum. Those can’t coexist without support and flexibility.
My role means a team of 60+ busy professionals look to me for all kinds of direction, approvals, solutions and ideas. It’s mostly reactive, not a job you can do casually.
There’s always a brief to sign off or a project that needs input, but with one less day a week, I’ve had to learn to be way more disciplined with my time – and sometimes, that means saying no.
It’s impossible to make flexible working a success in isolation. It takes open, honest communication, consistent scheduling, and a shared understanding that juggling a busy role with everything outside of work is a team sport, not a solo act.
I’m lucky to work with an agency that understands this. Flexibility isn’t a buzzword; it’s a genuine part of our culture. It’s how we’ve been able to attract amazing people who might otherwise have been lost to the industry.
Like events, being a mum is a balancing act. Every day there’s a new way to make it work – because I have a supportive team, both at home and at work, who step up. It’s taught me about patience, vulnerability, efficiency, and the importance of being able to rely on others when it counts.
That’s the idea I’ll take into this International Women’s Day. I think about the stories from On This Day She, a book about amazing women and their achievements – by Tania Hershman, Ailsa Holland, and Jo Bell.
One of the themes is how small acts of courage and resilience can ripple out in surprising ways. It reminds me why we champion flexible work, encourage inclusive hiring, champion one another and recognise that everyone has a life outside of work!
I’m proud to be part of a brilliant team of people, where, in our senior leadership team, the ratio of women to men is 60:40. Everybody deserves a chance to excel. Because while big gestures and celebrations are great, it’s the daily acts that make real difference, the help we give, the support we offer, lifting each other up.
