Working mothers keep falling behind because of two overlapping barriers: the "broken rung"—the missed first step up to manager—and the motherhood penalty, a measurable drop in pay and promotion after childbirth. In this transatlantic collaboration with executive coach and former midwife Rachel Erasmus, Erica unpacks the data, the identity shift no one prepares you for, the manager moments that make or break a return, and nine proven fixes to keep women rising. The problem isn

Since January 2025, more than 212,000 women have left the U.S. workforce, and a closer look shows it's overwhelmingly mothers with young children. Flexible work is vanishing, inclusive workplaces are retreating, affordable childcare is still nowhere to be found. Erica calls it what it is: the Mom Exodus. Drawing on her own return from maternity leave a decade ago, she breaks down why moms are leaving, what it costs all of us, and what has to change before the ripple effects l