Pressing ON as a Tech Mom: How Tech Industry Mothers Set Goals, Define Boundaries and Raise the Bar for Success

by Emilia M. D’Anzica, Sabina M. Pons

Becoming a leader in the “bro culture” of technology is a challenge for any capable woman—but it can be even more treacherous for mothers. Few women understand this better than Emilia M. D’Anzica and Sabina M. Pons, the respective founder and principal consultant at the management consulting firm Growth Molecules. Upon comparing stories about raising children while working in tech, D’Anzica and Pons what would it take for their male-dominated industry to start appreciating working mothers? The result of their conversations is Pressing ON as a Tech Mom, a first-of-its-kind guidebook for mothers who want to thrive in tech. Distilling wisdom from interviews with more than 300 tech industry leaders who are moms themselves, D’Anzica and Pons have assembled the ultimate list of tips, strategies and resources for tech mothers trying to balance their family lives along with their career aspirations. Though the industry can be hostile to ambitious mothers, Pressing ON as a Tech Mom offers them helpful strategies and calls on male allies to support them in challenging workplace sexism. In the process, D’Anzica and Pons present the hopeful future of a tech world that views mothers as assets precisely because of their identities and not in spite of them.

266 pages, Paperback

Published April 13, 2022

Reviews

[Michelle]

This was an interesting weed about the challenges that women and mothers have in the tech industry, and while I cannot relate to the parenting part of it, a lot of the stories and learnings from each one can be applied to women and other minorities in the workspace.

It's really interesting to see how mothers shoulder the burden of balancing home and work life, compared to their male counterparts and also those people without children. It's still, even in 2025, surprising to me that there is still such a lack of understanding that people are more than their jobs and have home lives to take care of, sometimes at the expense of a work meeting, etc.

[Emily]

Inspiring read for Moms in the tech industry. At times the struggle is painted over with a pretty brush, and most of the workers interviewed have been very fortunate in their field so it doesn't quite convey the negative side of things well... but I enjoyed it and I recommend it for young techies who are thinking about starting a family.