The story behind Mother Cover.
For most of my career I struggled with when the right time would be to start a family.
I was always aware that starting a family could impact my career. I worked hard to build something I was proud of. I held executive roles, led high-performing teams, and kept climbing. But in the back of my mind was always the same question: If I step away to have a child, will everything I’ve built fall apart?
So I waited. I told myself I’d start a family after the next role, the next promotion, the next milestone. But the “right time” never came.
Eventually, my husband and I decided to go for it anyway. And that’s when the real struggle began.
We were hit with infertility. The physical and emotional toll was heavy. Still, I told no one. I kept my foot on the gas, afraid of what might happen if people at work knew I was trying to have a baby.
I didn’t want to be seen as distracted, or less committed, or fragile. So I carried it all quietly.
I worked extra hard to show up at work and not let anyone notice the weight I was carrying at home. After years of this and going through IVF, we finally got the news we were hoping for — I was pregnant!
Two days later, I was laid off.
Searching for a job while pregnant is terrifying. I knew the reality that discrimination is still alive and well. So again, I stayed quiet.
I eventually landed a new role, but when I shared my pregnancy, the reaction was every woman’s worst nightmare. And that nightmare culminated with me being fired at eight months pregnant.
I shared my story on LinkedIn. And the floodgates opened.
Hundreds of people—mostly women—reached out to say I wasn’t alone. Some had been pushed out during leave. Others, out of fear and obligation, returned much sooner than they were ready. Even if they worked for companies with generous leave policies on paper, they all carried the same fear: If I step away, what will it mean for my career?
As I rocked my newborn daughter at night, I kept thinking about those stories.
I couldn’t stop wondering: What if I could help take even one obstacle out of the way?
The truth is, even the most progressive companies feel the pressure when someone goes on leave. Work needs to get done. Goals still matter. Figuring out a plan for that key member to step away is a stress that lands on a people manager’s already full plate. And that can feel overwhelming.
But I realized the stress isn’t caused by the person taking leave. It exists because our policies aren’t supported by plans that make parental, medical, or caregiving leave a normal part of workforce planning. When we have plans that operationalize policies, it means we can truly support people through life’s biggest transitions without compromising performance and without planting seeds of bias that lead to experiences like mine.
In order to chip away at the logistical challenges companies face, I asked myself: What if someone could step in while a parent is on leave—not as a replacement that adds to a parent’s fear, but to act on their behalf to actually lead the work, hit the targets, and give everyone peace of mind?
That’s where Mother Cover started.
“We all have important life events that are going to call us away from work at one time or another. What if we had a network ready to step in that has our backs until we return?”
I started by offering leave coverage for senior leaders and it quickly became something much bigger — crossing multiple functions and disciplines and spanning support across the U.S. and Canada. We’ve built a network of nearly 200 vetted professionals we call Leave Partners, built processes, best practices, templates, and guides, all designed to make leave seamless for the individual and the team.
Mother Cover exists to protect careers, support companies, and create flexible, meaningful work for experienced professionals.
We all deserve support when life outside of work needs our full attention. No one should have to choose between caring for themselves or someone they love and their career.
And now, they don’t have to.
Beth Wanner
Founder & CEO of Mother Cover
The “professional” about me bit:
Beth is the founder and CEO of Mother Cover, a leave coverage agency that helps companies across the U.S. and Canada manage parental and temporary leave without disrupting business or careers.
With 15 years of experience as an executive at fast-moving tech companies, Beth has led high-growth teams and seen firsthand how gaps in leave coverage create unnecessary risk for both organizations and employees.
Today, she leads Mother Cover in placing experienced interim and fractional professionals into roles during leave, ensuring continuity while protecting the returning employee’s role and momentum. She is also a vocal advocate for women and parents in the workplace.
In addition to her role at Mother Cover, as her capacity allows, Beth still advises companies as a fractional CMO, leveraging her experience across demand generation, product marketing, and brand strategy.
In her most exciting and demanding role yet, Beth is a proud mother to her daughter, Ruby. Together with her husband, a fellow entrepreneur, and their dog, Ella, they call the Canadian prairies home.
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