Why Unpaused exists
Unpaused was created because parental leave should not quietly become the moment a persons career when momentum starts to slow.
I know how easily it can happen.
I know how easily it can happen.
A note from Kaye
I created Unpaused because I know how much career momentum can be affected by parental leave — and how quietly it can happen.
My own maternity leave had a real impact on my career. I had to return to a sales role before I could work my way back into Learning and Development, despite knowing that was where my experience, skill and future sat.
I also know what it feels like to be treated as though being a parent is a professional inconvenience.
My daughter had a heart condition from birth until she was three. There were surgery complications, illnesses, appointments, nursery calls, worry and days where the carefully made plan simply did not survive contact with real life.
I was regularly told I should have an “A-Z support system” if my child could not go to nursery.
But when your child is poorly, you are not dealing with a diary problem. You are dealing with your child.
I went back into full-time work when my daughter was eight months old because I wanted to build a life of opportunity for her. But that decision came with sacrifice. I missed drop-offs, pick-ups, school plays, after-school activities and so many ordinary moments that now feel anything but ordinary.
And through all of that, I was still ambitious. Still capable. Still committed. Still someone with skills, experience and potential.
I just needed work and development to recognise the reality of the season I was in.
That is why Unpaused exists.
Not to add pressure. Not to tell parents they should be achieving more during parental leave. Not to turn one of the biggest life transitions into another performance target.
Unpaused exists to offer flexible, human, practical management development for those who want to stay connected to their career, confidence and capability while navigating a major life shift and their professional identity.
Because becoming a parent should not mean becoming invisible.
And your development should not have to disappear just because life has changed.
My own maternity leave had a real impact on my career. I had to return to a sales role before I could work my way back into Learning and Development, despite knowing that was where my experience, skill and future sat.
I also know what it feels like to be treated as though being a parent is a professional inconvenience.
My daughter had a heart condition from birth until she was three. There were surgery complications, illnesses, appointments, nursery calls, worry and days where the carefully made plan simply did not survive contact with real life.
I was regularly told I should have an “A-Z support system” if my child could not go to nursery.
But when your child is poorly, you are not dealing with a diary problem. You are dealing with your child.
I went back into full-time work when my daughter was eight months old because I wanted to build a life of opportunity for her. But that decision came with sacrifice. I missed drop-offs, pick-ups, school plays, after-school activities and so many ordinary moments that now feel anything but ordinary.
And through all of that, I was still ambitious. Still capable. Still committed. Still someone with skills, experience and potential.
I just needed work and development to recognise the reality of the season I was in.
That is why Unpaused exists.
Not to add pressure. Not to tell parents they should be achieving more during parental leave. Not to turn one of the biggest life transitions into another performance target.
Unpaused exists to offer flexible, human, practical management development for those who want to stay connected to their career, confidence and capability while navigating a major life shift and their professional identity.
Because becoming a parent should not mean becoming invisible.
And your development should not have to disappear just because life has changed.
