Why It’s Important to ‘Pick Your Passion’ — Finding Balance as a Mom and Employee Network Leader

How does Shannon Pease-Dodson, PhD and Quality Manager within Design & Engineering (D&E) at ASML, balance her career with being a parent?

Well, one way is by taking things one day at a time. “Try to cherish the time each day that you have with your little one,” she says. And know that some weeks you’ll need to spend more time at work, and other weeks your family may take more of your focus. “That’s fine; it all works out in the end,” Shannon encourages.

As for those who are not sure about their future as a working parent, “know that both decisions — going back to work or staying home with your kid — are valid,” says Shannon. “Some people are able to be better parents by going to work and interacting with adults. Importantly, please remember that your mental health is important, too.”

Another key piece of advice for parents? Finding a company that will support your specific needs! Luckily for Shannon, ASML’s culture is very supportive of working parents.

“A lot of what I’ve been able to accomplish is due to supportive management,” shares Shannon. “The managers I’ve had since having children, and specifically my current manager, have been supportive and understanding when I’ve needed to leave early due to family-related needs or work from home due to a sick kid.”

Additionally, ASML hosts different Employee Networks (ENs), including ones for parents. Not only are employees like Shannon encouraged to participate in ENs, these groups are able to enact real, positive change in the organization!

Here, Shannon shares more about her career journey, top advice as a working parent, and her experience as an EN leader.

To start, what advice would you give someone hoping to grow in your field? 

Never stop looking for opportunities to learn and grow. For example, you can take soft skill or practical skill courses that help further your career, including professional certificates.

Also, remember that your career is not limited to what you learned in school or where you started your career. My degrees are in Chemistry, and so my first job and my first role here at ASML were as a scientist. After several years in that role, I found that I needed a change, and luckily, ASML is very supportive in helping people find their next opportunity.

Next, let’s discuss your experience as a working parent. How did you prepare for maternity leave, and what advice can you offer to other moms who are expecting their first child? 

Set a date for when you think you will go out, and then back up a couple of weeks to ensure that you will have adequate time to wrap things up and perform knowledge and project transfers with whomever will be covering for you. This process can be confusing with specific state leave programs and company coverage, so it can be extremely helpful to schedule meetings with HR and other parents who have recently been on leave to get advice on how the process works, pitfalls to avoid, and more.

When you return, no matter how much time you took off, you’ll be going through an emotional time. You’re leaving your baby with someone else to be the caregiver (such as a spouse, daycare, grandparent, etc) — it’ll be hard. You’re going to be tired. If you decide to pump, trying to figure out a schedule and how to fit this into your work schedule can be difficult. Do what you need to do in those first few weeks to not stress yourself out; take a week or two to settle into your routine.  

How does ASML help you strike a work-life balance as a working parent? 

Pre-pandemic, finding this balance happened on a case-by-case basis because we were expected to work in the office every day. Since my husband was part-time at his job when our daughter was born, in that first year there were days when he needed to be at work before my work day was officially done. So, I went to my manager, and he approved of me leaving early on those days and continuing to work from home or staying longer another day. As a result, when my husband went full-time and we put our daughter in daycare/preschool, I had the flexibility to leave work to pick her up or take her to the doctor and then continue my work from home. We are also encouraged to use our paid time off (PTO) days when our kids are sick and we cannot work with a sick one at home.

Then, when my daughter was almost three, the pandemic hit. My husband took Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) to care for her during those three months while I worked from one of the bedrooms in our house. Now, post-pandemic, my department at ASML is still hybrid with expectations in place as to how often we should be in the office. My small direct team is completely made up of mothers, so we understand when we need to run because the school called or there is a special event and we need to call off early to bring a kid to an afterschool activity — we know that we have to put in the work to accomplish our family needs. For example, on the days that I’m working from home, I can block 30 minutes on my schedule to go take a walk, pick my daughter up from school, and drop her off before most of my meetings begin. 

As a working parent, the biggest thing to remember is that not every week will be the same. There will be some weeks where work is so busy that you need to spend more than 40 hours, and there will be weeks where your home life takes priority. Just remember to keep your manager up-to-date when your family needs will require more of your time.

Another great benefit at ASML are their Employee Networks. Could you give us a brief explanation of how these groups work and some of their biggest accomplishments? 

The Employee Networks (ENs) are employee-run and supported by Global Diversity and Inclusion. EN boards run the network by building communities within the company, providing networking and professional development opportunities, directing events (including training or speakers), and creating visibility for their community within ASML. 

Each EN has a focus area (such as WAVES for women, Parents for parents, Proud for members of the LGBTIQ+ community and their allies, or Atypical for people who are neurodivergent). Every EN works to create a safe space for their members to voice concerns, suggest improvements, learn, and grow. 

These ENs have been able to introduce change to ASML, such as LGBTIQ+ support, the removal of single-use cups in our break rooms, the planned introduction of dishwashers and reusable cutlery/plates in our cafeteria, and mentorship and professional development opportunities so all employees can thrive in the workplace.

You’ve become a leader in multiple ENs. What do these leadership roles involve, and what made you decide to become an EN leader? 

I’ve been a member of WAVES for several years. Then, about a year and a half ago, they advertised open positions, including a communications lead role. I felt that this was something I could do to get more involved, as it involves attending the board meetings, sending out communications to our members, and supporting the board members who do the heavy lifting on planning — and I ended up taking on this role!

For the Parents EN, my co-lead role happened before I knew it. My current co-lead and I had been in the same group for several years before job changes, and at that time our group was  predominantly made up of parents with young children. We would occasionally get our families together on the weekends, but we knew that we weren’t the only ones in the company with young children or going through parental leave. Our headquarters in The Netherlands had a Parents group that was branched off from their Women group, so an idea formed to start one here. As a result, after the pandemic, my co-lead and I took the lead on getting the Parents group up-and-running again for our site. 

Do you have any advice for people who are hoping to become a leader in an EN or other employee group like you have? 

Pick your passion! If it’s an existing EN, I guarantee that we will always be looking for more help. If the board happens to be full, help with a committee under one of those board members, and when they rotate out of the position, don’t be afraid to toss your name in the ring as a new member. ENs are also a good place to grow your leadership skills, so if growing in a leadership or management capacity is something that you want to do, then being an EN leader is a good place to start. 

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