Juggling motherhood and a career isn’t easy. The tech industry, like many others, still has a long way to go in supporting working mothers. However, some women are turning challenges into opportunities, creating businesses inspired by their own parenting experiences.
How do they manage it? What changes can make workplaces more child-friendly? Let’s dive into the real stories of working mothers.
“I was breastfeeding my baby while crossing the border”
Anna Lazitskaya, Embraceme.app founder, based in Poland, says she found out she was pregnant, when she has already been on the verge of burnout. She was about to start a new job at Cyprus-based startup Fibery, but decided to resign and start her own company.
Within a couple of months, Anna found a volunteer developer, and by her eighth month of pregnancy, they launched an app in the App Store. This is embraceme.app, a grief tech app, which she describes as “a lab for people to learn back the lost skill of building friendships and relationships”.
“When my son was just four months old, we had to immigrate. I still remember crossing the Lithuanian border—driving while breastfeeding, much to the surprise of the border guard”, Anna recalls.
Her initial plan was to return to work in a few days after labour. But sleep deprivation and postpartum blues changed the picture. Anna says her life narrowed to a very basic minimum.
“Sleep, water, and food are always my top priorities. I’ve had to let go of other things, like sports or fun hobbies. I’ve become “all work and no play,” spending my time either with my child, working, or learning something new. No more entertainment, I watch a TV show once a year, usually when I’m sick”.
How many women work in tech across CEE?
Statistics claim that usually women tend to be less involved in the workforce. This gender gap is especially significant for the tech industry, as there is a lack of women in STEM education alltogether. According to Eurostat data, women make up around third of all STEM graduates, with Romania, Poland and Greece on top.
That filtered further down and we end up with a fraction of women in technology:
- Poland: women make up 16.7% of the IT workforce.
- Ukraine: slightly above the EU average, 23.6% of IT professionals are women.
- Bulgaria: leads the region with the highest share of women in IT—29% of the workforce.
- United States: women hold about 35% of tech jobs but remain underrepresented in leadership roles, which are predominantly male.
Various research highlight the benefits of diversity though. A study by McKinsey found that companies with gender-diverse executive teams outperform competitors by 20% in profitability. Another study shows that firms with diverse teams are 45% more likely to report market growth and 70% more likely to capture new markets.
However, the level of support for working mothers varies significantly. It depends on individual companies and their corporate strategies, says Alena Aharelyshava, a Gender Studies expert, based in Berlin.
“Early-stage startups often demand full commitment—extra hours, weekends, and constant availability. Parenthood, however, changes everything. A parent has responsibilities that limit flexibility, and support is essential—whether from family, daycare, or workplace policies. Being a mother isn’t something you can just pause. Most mothers must balance work and parenting, often without real alternatives,” Aharelyshava concludes.
Parenthood as business inspiration
Motherhood can be a powerful source of entrepreneurial inspiration. Boryana Levterova, founder of Infinity Toy Box, a rental platform for children’s toys, turned her parenting challenges into a business.
Boryana, a mother of two, previously worked in consulting across North America and Bulgaria. She realized that children outgrow toys and equipment quickly, which leads to overconsumption. This insight led to the creation of Infinity Box Toy, a rental platform promoting a circular economy where parents can rent everything from toys to cradles instead of constantly buying new ones.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t start such a business if I didn’t have kids”, Boryana admits.
Now four years old, Infinity Toy Box has received funding from Vitosha Venture, Bulgaria’s largest VC, and continues to grow in the Bulgarian market.
How to balance business and motherhood
Anna’s primary advice is simple: seek help and support wherever you can.
“I manage parenting with my husband on a 50/50 basis, though sometimes it shifts to 80/20 on him. Nannies, grandparents, friends also could help out. It’s essential to carve out time for yourself, even if it’s just an hour a day.”
Time is always a challenge, but if you’re used to working a lot, you’ll keep doing so—even after having kids, Boryana is sure about this.
“When your kids are sick, you can’t simply take sick leave like an employee. The work still needs to get done”. To manage this, she structures her day strategically. High-priority tasks with other analytical work go in the morning, when her mind is sharp. Later in the day, when kids are around, she focuses on creative tasks.
The biggest issue for Boryana is the lack of kindergarten spaces in Sofia, leading many parents to opt for private daycare, which is expensive. Grandparents aren’t always available either—many are still working themselves.
“My parents are in their late 50s, and they still work. Luckily, they run their own businesses, so they’re flexible. But many other parents don’t have this advantage.”
Motherhood in workplace policies
Boryana has employees with kids, so they had to implement new policies at the workplace.
“We try to be flexible—for example, our delivery guy works three times a week, but if something comes up, we reschedule. Fortunately, our clients are also mothers, so they’re very understanding.”
To their employees with kids, she also offers free subscriptions to their services.
Anna shares how being a mother and a foundress changed her perspective towards working spaces: “As my startup grows, I dream of offering parental leave for both parents, as well as creating family-friendly workspaces.
One idea I’m passionate about is establishing support and mentorship groups within companies. Parents already in the workplace could share their experiences and advice with others, offering valuable insights at no extra cost to the company.”
