If you’ve watcher Netflix’s The Diplomat and wondered if it’s a true reflection of life in the diplomatic service, this is the podcast to listen to. Jen is an extraordinary woman who overcame rejection three times to join the foreign office and follow her dream of becoming a diplomat. Perhaps even more impressively, she noticed when the time for her to move on had come rather than staying in a job that was no longer fulfilling, despite the ‘sunk costs’ of everything she had put into getting there. She spent over 2 decades in diplomacy, which included posts in Pakistan and Egypt. She’s also raised a family in the midst of this phenomenal career, which involved evacuating her very young children twice during two revolutions.

Jen now runs her own business called ‘How to Diplomat’ where she uses the incredible lessons she’s learnt over years of working alongside world leaders and distils these lessons into accessible, useable, often funny and jargon free videos and posts to help us all learn the skills of diplomacy. Throughout our conversation I was struck by Jen’s thoughtful and pragmatic approach to the situations she found herself in and how incredibly honest she has been in her reflections about how she showed up at work at various stages of her career. From tear gas in the embassy gardens whilst pregnant to moving to Cairo because she fell in love with Egypt in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I challenge anyone not to feel inspired after listening to this phenomenal woman.

Mel Clarke is a force to be reckoned with! Recently awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list for her services to women (among other things), Mel is the definition of a powerful woman. Mum to three, Mel took on the role of main breadwinner when her husband was made redundant and went from strength to strength in her career at National Highways. Not one to shy away from a difficult conversation, she challenged her bosses when she was overlooked for promotion and succeeded in getting them to stop, think and change their approach to working mums. Now as Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, she is in a position to shape the experience of thousands of women below her. Her legacy has been setting up the Women’s Network which now has over 1000 members.

But this journey hasn’t been without it’s challenges. From prejudice at school, to mum guilt, to her husband feeling isolated, Mel talks with honesty and openness about the highs and lows of their experiences and how their unusual family dynamic has impacted on her children. She also talks really positively about how she now pays this forward in the way that she champions women of all ages and stages at work. This podcast is a must for any mum who is holding down a big job and who sometimes feels that they are not achieving the balance they had hoped for. It’s also for the women out there who are taking on the less traditional role of the main earner in their family and how to navigate this with dignity.

Chloё Luxton is founder and creative director of Bramley - a range of natural bathroom, home and skin care products. Whilst Bramley was her first child, she is also mum to three children, all of whom she had whilst running the business.

Chloё’s calm demeanour and ‘anything is possible’ approach is reassuring for those of us frantically juggling work and children. She talks openly about the positives and negatives of running a business with children in tow and how she has been intentional about being the architect of balance in her life. She reminded me of not losing sight of what the important things are in life.

We also discuss childcare and the value of an extra pair of hands. Positive and upbeat, this podcast will inspire anyone thinking about setting up a lifestyle business alongside having children. It also highlights how often women don’t recognise their own phenomenal achievements, instead putting their successes down to ‘winging it’. Hopefully Chloё now thinks differently…!