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Chantella Perera on the overwhelm of the double shift

Chantella Perera was familiar with the juggle before motherhood ever entered the picture. 


Before motherhood, she was working two jobs as a professional athlete playing WNBL and AFLW, because women's sport alone would never cut it as a pay check. And then, when becoming a mum, it became the double shift – navigating the paid work alongside what society dubs the world’s biggest job. 


And here, we talk all about it: the push pull and guilt that comes with being both the primary earner and the mother, how Chantella went from someone that went from hiding her motherhood journey at work to now being open about it, and how her relationship with feminism has changed over time.


Chantella is also incredibly vulnerable in reflecting on what it’s like to become a mum after losing your own, and she’s really open about the fact that while she adores her kids and would never regret them, she’s not sure if she ever really considered what motherhood actually entailed before she became a mum herself. 



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This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

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