"I found out I was pregnant on my first day at Addepar," Shonan Vora recently explained to us from her office in sunny Mountain View, CA, while taking a break as the lead product manager on Addepar's recently announced Schwab integration.
"I was in a confused state of mind. I had just started a brand new job. Before Addepar, I had spent my career in the financial services industry, where things are very different. I was very embarrassed, initially. What are they going to think of me? I had a meeting with my manager once I was past my first trimester. I said, 'I'm sorry, I know you just hired me, but I'm pregnant and I'm going to have to go on leave soon.' He was like, 'What do you mean, you're sorry? You have to go on with your life. You can't stop your life just because you got a new job.' I was always grateful for that, but not just for him. Everybody in the company completely supported me through it."
While other companies may have balked at receiving news like the update Shonan delivered within 90 days of starting her new role, Addepar, a financial platform bringing common sense to investing, proved to stay true to their pragmatic principles throughout Shonan's pregnancy and beyond. They know what all mother's know: just because a woman has children, it doesn't make her less competent or capable to do her job, and do it well.
"Whether it was my pregnancy, my maternity leave or something else, they didn't give me less responsibility. I was in the middle of some very big projects when I went on maternity leave. They didn't take anything away from me, which was my worst fear. I have had an excellent experience with the company starting from the first day."
Addepar even provided her with access to LUCY, a parental personal care service offering in-home or virtual sessions including lactation, sleep consulting, immediate post-birth support and back-to-work coaching. This incredible, 8-session benefit has allowed Shonan to continue to be successful at Addepar while maintaining work/life balance.
Shonan's daughter is now 15 months old, and she feels the need to negate any misconceptions about what it's like to be a working mom and the lead product manager responsible for data management at Addepar. "A lot of people ask me, 'How do you manage a one year old and working at a fast paced company?' Everyone at Addepar has been very supportive. I take advantage of Addepar's flexible policy by coming in at 7 AM. I get the bulk of my work done before everyone comes in so that I can leave at 4:30 PM. I'm able to spend a few hours with my daughter before she goes to bed. People understand that. I'm able to keep my own hours and the company is behind me 100%. I value this flexibility and it drives me to ensure that my projects are always completed on time."
Is your company behind you 100%, throughout your life's journey? Check out a company that stands behind their staff from day one. Click here to learn more about Addepar and all of their open roles.
