Please take care when listening.
Jess Gross has had three miscarriages and nobody at work knew about any of them.
Not because she didn't need support but because telling your employer you've had a miscarriage means admitting you were pregnant. Admitting you were pregnant means they now know you're trying for a baby and in too many workplaces, that single piece of information can quietly change how your commitment, your ambition, and your future are perceived.
So Jess grieved in silence, still showed up and held it together.
With over 250,000 miscarriages happen in the UK every year, this is the hidden tax on women in the workplace. We talk about getting more women into leadership, but we cannot build workplaces where women can genuinely thrive if we are still expecting them to perform through experiences they dont feel comfortable sharing. The cost is invisible.
While we debate flexible working policies and parental leave frameworks, one your colleague may be sitting in a Monday morning meeting having miscarried at the weekend saying nothing, because the professional risk of saying something feels too high.
In the latest episode of Behind The Title, Jess, Managing Partner at MSL shares her full story with a courage I have enormous respect for. She talks about grief that had no space to breathe, a workplace culture that expected her to carry on, a leader who never once acknowledged what she was going through and what she now believes leaders must do differently.
Real gender equality doesn't start with a policy document. It starts with a conversation like this one.
If you manage people, this episode is for you. If you've been through this, this episode is for you.
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