In this episode, I chat with Stephanie Pow, founder of Crayon, a startup on a mission to reduce financial stress in the moments that matter most. Crayon is best known for creating the New Zealand Parental Leave Register, which brings transparency to over 300 verified parental leave policies nationwide.

Stephanie shares the personal journey that inspired her to launch Crayon, and why even with a finance background, she found navigating the costs of parenthood unexpectedly challenging.

She explains how lack of transparency and support around parental leave can deepen the motherhood penalty and how better policies, planning and paid partner leave could change everything.

Stephanie also opens up about her own experience juggling entrepreneurship, parenting and the invisible mental load, and why she believes paid partner leave could be the single biggest lever to smash the motherhood penalty.

We speak about:

· The financial realities new parents face and why they’re often unprepared

· How the NZ Parental Leave Register works and why it’s changing the conversation

· The hidden pitfalls of clawback clauses and qualifying criteria

· Why return-to-work support and “returnships” matter

· The link between paid partner leave and closing the gender pay gap

· Practical steps employers can take to support parents and retain talent

Resources Discussed · https://www.gocrayon.com/ · https://nyupress.org/9781479835454/what-works-for-women-at-work/ · https://hbr.org/2021/09/the-problem-with-greedy-work

Connect with Emma

This podcast was funded and created by Emma Mclean, the founder of Works for Everyone.

Emma Mclean is a mum of three and founder of Works for Everyone, a professional development business that partners with NZ's leading corporates to help them retain and grow their working parent talent. She does this through innovative leadership programmes, executive coaching and keynote speaking. She founded her business in 2019 following a 20-year career in corporate strategy where she experienced first-hand how hard it was to have a career and a family.

As an impatient optimist when it comes to system change, she launched her successful podcast “How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty” in 2023 where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. And in 2024 she launched the first NZ Part Time Power List – to shine a light on those senior roles in NZ that are career building, not side stepping." To work with Emma or enquire about speaking – [email protected] www.worksforeveryone.co.nz https://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/