In 2018, I was fired from my prestigious job at an advertising agency for becoming a mother. The experience shocked me. I had hoped to become a leader in my industry. I dreamed of one day becoming a CMO. I immediately began to job hunt for a position that would put me back on track. I got pretty close to a few amazing roles, but inevitably the interviewer would ask about the end date on my resume and I was forced to disclose that I was a new mom. That’s where most conversations ended. After 7 months of full-time job hunting, while bleeding money on childcare and therapy, the financial and emotional burden became too much and I resigned to becoming a stay-at-home mom.

When I opened up about my experience to others, similar stories came out of the woodworks. I began to realize the magnitude of how many intelligent and ambitious women drop out of the workforce or sideline their career goals due to issues relating to their gender. I also learned first-hand all the reasons why they keep their stories quiet. They are forced to sign confidentiality agreements when they get severance offers or settle a lawsuit. They don’t want to be seen as troublemakers to future employers. Companies threaten to sue them for defamation. The lack of women in leadership and the persistent gender pay gap started to take on a whole new light for me.

So often when we read about gender inequality in the workforce, even the best-intentioned messages seem to place the blame on women – as though we just needed to dream bigger or negotiate better to close the gap. I felt compelled to set the record straight and help shift the responsibility to our employers, our government and our culture. So I created a podcast, The Female Fallout, to serve as a platform for women to share their stories and expose the most critical obstacles facing working women today. In this podcast, premiering Tuesday May 4th on all major podcast distributors, we hear stories of discrimination, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and more. We also speak with experts to learn how rampant these issues are in today’s workplace and the laws, policies and attitudes that must change to not only close the leadership gap but protect the financial security of our most vulnerable population – women.

The World Woman Foundation has partnered with us to raise awareness for these crucial topics and drive tune-in for the season’s finale on June 22nd, where we speak with New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. In this episode, Senator Biaggi shares incredible stories on her journey to office and how she was able to reform sexual harassment law in the state of New York. A champion for civic engagement, she takes us on an inside journey into politics and what we can all do to drive real change.

Subscribe to The Female Fallout podcast on your favorite podcast listening app to be the first to hear new episodes.  Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram to join the community. Season one premieres Tuesday, May 4th and new episodes will be released weekly.