Life’s biggest moments deserve meaningful support: Meet Sohayla

Becoming a parent is one of life’s biggest moments, and for many people it can also come with a lot of uncertainty around work.

For Sohayla Worth, Global Marketing Director at SMG, the start of her pregnancy brought unexpected challenges: finding out she was pregnant, being promoted, and then learning she was expecting twins.

Those thoughts don’t exist in isolation – they reflect a wider reality our society is still navigating. In fact, 52% of mothers report experiencing discrimination when pregnant, on maternity leave, or after returning to work (tommys.org), which helps explain why so many women carry these doubts. What made the difference was how her manager and team responded when she shared her news.

“They reassured me that I fully deserved the promotion, regardless of my upcoming maternity leave, and they were incredibly understanding about how unwell I was feeling. I was encouraged to make the most of flexible hours and working from home, which made a huge difference.”

That support has shaped how Sohayla is now thinking about the months ahead.

With an enhanced maternity leave package, she’s planning to take a full year off – time she wouldn’t necessarily have felt able to take otherwise.

“It significantly reduces financial pressure and allows me to focus on what matters most – becoming a first-time mum to twins and taking care of myself.”

For Sohayla, it’s also reinforced something bigger about her career.

Support shouldn’t begin and end with parental leave – it matters just as much beforehand. And it shouldn’t come at the cost of ambition, because careers don’t stop when you have children – they evolve.