You Don't Have to Choose Between Motherhood and Ambition| Prof. Winnie Jiang | Ep 40

<p>There's a moment in early motherhood that most never admit out loud. The moment you look at your baby and think — <em>I didn't sign up for this. When the career you spent a decade building feels like it's slipping away. When you wonder if choosing to have children was a mistake.</em></p><p><br /></p><p>Professor Winnie Jiang went there. And she came out the other side with the science to explain why — and what to do about it. I first reached out to Professor Winnie 2 years ago and it’s a conversation that was definitely worth the wait!</p><p><br /></p><p>Winnie is an organizational behavior professor at INSEAD Singapore, a Yale PhD, and one of the world's most influential management thinkers (Thinkers50 Radar Class). But in this conversation, she shows up first as a young mom of two under five — still in the trenches, still figuring it out, just like the rest of us.</p><p><br /></p><p>From Singapore's unique pressures on working mothers to navigating a dual-career marriage without letting resentment quietly build, we go deep on the things working moms in Asia rarely say out loud.</p><p><br /><strong>What we get into:</strong> </p><p>😶 The shame of not wanting to call yourself a mother — and why it makes complete sense </p><p>💔 Why the "back to work after three months" fantasy falls apart, and what the timeline actually looks like</p><p> ⚖️ The invisible power struggle happening in dual-career marriages — and the conversation that can fix it </p><p>🧭 The six anchors of meaning that explain why your job can feel empty even when it looks great on paper </p><p>🤖 Why AI might give working moms something no one else has — time</p><p>If you've ever felt like a worse professional for becoming a mother — or a worse mother for caring about your career — this episode was made for you.</p><p><br /></p><p>—-------------</p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 When Motherhood Feels Like a Career Killer </p><p>01:12 Introduction</p><p>02:59 Finding Your Spring After the Hardest Winter </p><p>04:05 Why Your Village Changes Everything </p><p>09:58 How to Find Meaning When You're Running on Empty </p><p>26:28 Why Work Feels Like a Relief (And That's Okay) </p><p>27:03 The 6 Anchors That Make Work Feel Worthwhile </p><p>31:21 The Resentment No One Talks About in Marriage </p><p>43:02 What Workplaces Get Wrong About Working Moms </p><p>49:30 Could AI Actually Give Moms Their Time Back?</p><p>—-------------</p><p><br /></p><p>Connect with Winnie: </p><p>👋 LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/winnie-jiang-363ab745/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/winnie-jiang-363ab745/</a></p><p>👋 Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/winnieeeyunn/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/winnieeeyunn/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Follow Make It Work! ⁠<a href="https://linktr.ee/makeitwork.podcast%E2%81%A0" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://linktr.ee/makeitwork.podcast⁠</a></p><p>📷 Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/</a> </p><p>💼 LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/</a> </p><p>🎵 Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Make-It-Work/61566472637714/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/people/Make-It-Work/61566472637714/</a> </p><p>🍏 Apple: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085</a> </p><p>🎵 Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/78ulY0B27nYxGB6jPCABPI?si=abfc48d037d943be" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/show/78ulY0B27nYxGB6jPCABPI?si=abfc48d037d943be</