Where were you at in your music career when you had your first child? Was there much discussion about how that life choice would affect your career within the music/entertainment industry?
When I had my first child I was working at CARAS/The JUNO Awards - a workplace that supported folks taking mat leave certainly, but an industry where working events on the evenings and weekends and traveling for work was much easier for those who didn't have kids. The need to leave the office by a certain time to pick up the kids from daycare/school can lead to an uncomfortable feeling around the office, a feeling like employees who stay later are "working harder" and "more committed." It leads to parents feeling like they need to make up the time after the kids are in bed which blurs the boundaries between work and home life and often leads to parents working more than other staff due to real or imagined pressures of the workplace.
As a working parent in the music industry, what are some of the biggest challenges you face or have faced?
Working on the JUNOS as the volunteer chair of the host committee was amazing but also very challenging as I was on mat leave in the year leading up to the event. It was an incredible opportunity and I had amazing support and understanding from the other host committee members but it was a big challenge to have meetings during those elusive times where my daughter would nap on her own or, even more challenging, when she would be awake and fidgety. She came to site visits, my eldest came to sound checks, and for all the times I couldn't have them with me, I needed to negotiate time away from the house and ensure it didn't interfere with my husband's work schedule. From when the bid was submitted and my youngest was 2 weeks old to when the JUNOS came and she was a year and a half it was a very challenging time, but I have no regrets.
How do you find support and community with other working parents in or out of the music industry?
Sending memes over instagram and commiserating via text at 11pm... truly. Knowing that you're not alone means so much.
What’s one specific example of an organization/venue/company doing something great to help support working parents?
The Light House Arts Centre has the capacity for all ages shows in a city where that model is quite elusive. To see kids running around gleefully and dancing (even crowd surfing at one point) at the final show of Classified's Welcome to the Maritimes tour was amazing. We need to be providing more opportunities for kids to become live music fans. Additionally, more matinees of non-children performers. Normalize kids going to shows to see artists of any kind, not just children's performers and/or TV show mascots doing a meet and greet.
What could a music event (festival, conference, etc.), do or provide to make it easier for you to participate?
Please stop hosting parenting panels/roundtables at 9am. Yes, we're usually up early at home but more than likely we're NOT up early because we're away! I always see these types of sessions first thing in the morning and it's a real disservice to parents/caregivers. Shake it up a bit.
Can you shout out another music mama doing great things?
Vanessa Kuzina at Manitoba Music <3.
