Mothers need to be empowered to advance in their careers.

Galla Stambuk leads the department of family solutions at globegarden. She always has an open ear for the questions and concerns of families whose children are enrolled for in one of the over 70 childcare centers in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. As a mother of two children, she understands their concerns particularly well.

Galla is a cheerful, open person. You can tell she loves her job immediately by the enthusiasm with which she talks about it. Balancing motherhood with her personal career was challenging at first. When her daughter was born, she held a managerial position in a logistics company. “That meant above all: a lot of responsibility, commitment, long days and being ready to work late evenings or weekends,” she recalls. She quickly realized that this, in addition to the responsibility she now had for her daughter, became a lot. When her son was born later, she decided to take a professional break: “At that time, the challenge of combining the two was just too great.” After a year, she felt the desire for a change. “I actually wanted to return to my career. And at the same time, I noticed that childcare would be good for my son. There, kids simply have completely different opportunities to develop. Childcare offers them a lot that parents at home can’t provide, such as community with peers and thus the development of initial social skills. And especially varied days,” says Galla.

From godmother to dream job

However, repositioning herself was easier said than done. For Galla, it was clear that she wanted to return to her profession with a workload of at least 60 or 80 percent to continue her career development. This was against the high childcare costs. “One inevitably asks oneself whether this is proportional,” she concludes. However, part-time work was not an option for her. Finally, the idea of her best friend, who is also the godmother of Galla’s two children, came to the rescue. The two had met at their previous job, and her friend was now working at globegarden. “She suggested that I should just work there, and so it happened,” laughs Galla.

A place for family and career

Initially, she was cautious about her professional ambitions: “I was very happy that my children were cared for in the globegarden childcares during the day and that I had time for my job. I had still planned to take it slow at first.” She never felt misunderstood. Instead, direct communication with the founders always gave her a good feeling. But things turned out a bit differently than planned, as Galla remembers with a smile: “I actually came from a management position and knew what additional responsibility that entails. I had sworn to myself to just take a normal job at first. But after a year, the founders offered me to take over the management of the family services. I couldn’t and didn’t want to say no!”

Strong teamwork

Today, her children are already in school – and Galla couldn’t imagine life without her job anymore. “I’ve never enjoyed going to work so much. We have a great team with which we can respond to families and the children. I get to work with so many amazing women. I am heard and appreciated. This gives me something I have never experienced in a job before.” But even today, care is still a topic for her. While the childcares are closed only a few days a year, the school holidays have become a challenge again. Here, her flexible work environment helps her to organize well and still be there for her children.

“We think for families”

Changing something for families in Switzerland drives Galla every day. She finds it unfortunate that as a result of the pandemic, the old gender roles of man and woman are sometimes more pronounced again. “We should actually move away from that,” she says. That the globegarden founders themselves are mothers and show that family and career can be well reconciled is another important aspect of her work environment for her. “All mothers who are well-educated should have the opportunity today to return to their job after giving birth and not have to stay at home due to external influences such as care costs or the availability of care places,” she states emphatically.

Does she miss anything sometimes? “What I sometimes miss is the social and political appreciation for the entire industry. Here, so many great people work and commit themselves to families in Switzerland every day – I think that sometimes goes a bit unnoticed. Yet, it’s so important for families and society as a whole!”

"The childcare centers offers children many things that parents at home cannot provide, such as the community with peers and thereby the development of social skills. And above all, inspiring days with lots of early education."