I grew up quite confident in who I was as a person. I worked hard, pushed myself and put 100% into achieving the goals I set myself. This work ethic followed me from school, to study, to moving interstate, to overseas and then into my career.
When we returned from London my partner and I decided to put down some roots and start a family. I am very proud to be the mother of three beautiful children today. Motherhood changes lots of things. For many women, there is a loss of existing self-identity. Life increasingly becomes a series of trade-offs, constantly feeling like you should be somewhere else. I have unconditional love for my children, but balancing ambition with caregiving became more challenging for me with each child.
After my second child, I experienced an early miscarriage, and my confidence started to decline. This continued into my next pregnancy, compounded by tiredness. When I then had my third child, I struggled with the concept of returning to work. I was overwhelmed with the changes taking place in the business. I was half in, half out. Confidence gave way to anxiety. I started questioning my capability. It felt like the business had moved on while I was away. The leadership team had grown, and I didn’t have relationships with a lot of new employees. I believed they weren’t getting the best or previous version of me.
Fast forward to now and my youngest child is 18 months old. I finally feel like I’m coming out the other side. It has been quite the process. The load of caring for three small children still exists, but I’ve taken some time to invest in me and reset my expectations of what it means to be a leader. Time and focus are no longer 100% directed to achieving career goals. This was hard to overcome initially when you’re used to putting 100% into everything.
Ultimately, the challenge isn’t capability, it is capacity.
It doesn’t mean I’m any less committed or that same work ethic from earlier years no longer exists.
At LMS, I have led positive, practical changes not just for other working mums, but for working parents. Our approach to caregiving is about putting families first. This is strongly embedded in how we think about work and our culture. This shows up in employer-paid parental leave, continued superannuation payments while on unpaid parental leave, as well as eight different types of workplace flexibility and many other benefits.
In our 2025 employee engagement survey, 95% of employees agreed that their manager and supervisor are supportive of flexible work. Similarly, employees stated that LMS is a respectful workplace. I think this tells a story of not just genuine care but modern leadership, one that understands that people do their best work when their whole lives are considered. This is important when redefining what it is to be a leader in terms of availability, working hours and physical visibility. Flexibility in senior roles should not be seen as a compromise.
Another recent caregiving initiative I am proud of is our return-to-work support payment. It is for primary carers who have been on a continuous break of parental leave. The support payment is paid for a period of 6 months following the employee’s return to work date. It means new parents returning 3 or 4 days a week will be paid for an extra day a week for 6 months, and new parents returning less than 3 days a week will be paid for an extra half day a week for the first 6 months. It recognises that the early months back at work are about rebuilding capacity – not proving commitment.
When looking at our workforce composition today, female representation across executive, group leader and manager levels has increased by 9.5% when compared to 2019-2020 data. This reflects our ongoing commitment to attracting, retaining, and supporting women at senior levels across the company. Importantly, our by-level pay gaps now sit at close to zero across LMS’ group leader and manager levels. This demonstrates great pay equity within levels and highlights that LMS is making positive progress in redefining what it is to be a modern leader. Leadership and caregiving do not need to be mutually exclusive.
Over the past 18 months, I am grateful for the ongoing support I have received from my husband, father, brother and several other male leaders at LMS who are in my corner. Although I am the only female executive currently, I can’t sit here and say I always feel like the odd one out, because that’s not true in my case. Men play a pivotal role in not only supporting other women in the workplace, but also caring and providing for their families, and that is not to be overlooked.
The challenge of returning to the table as a mum of three has been real, but it has also reshaped how I think about leadership. LMS is making great progress as a business, and I love the journey we’re all on together.
Elyce McLeay
Chief People Officer