Work-Life Balance

Thinking like a mother: How I found the right balance for my development career

Once-simple career decisions — like being able to move at a moment's notice — can change greatly after having children. A guest commentary on adapting to motherhood as a global development professional from Yassica Ferrer, a business development director at DAI Europe.

By Yassica Ferrer // 03 March 2015

I wasn’t thinking like a mother when I went back overseas for the first time after my son's birth.

I was so accustomed to development work without a child that when I did have my son, I was the one who couldn’t adapt to my career.

I had my son when I was 36. Until then, I had lived and travelled to many countries working on U.S. Agency for International Development-funded projects. Opportunities came quick and unexpectedly, and I was used to taking them at the drop of a hat.

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