Episode 17 – From Being Pushed Out to Promama: Designing Better Work for Parents in Italy

What can companies learn from countries where parenthood still pushes talent out of the workforce?In this episode of the Kundra Podcast, Theresa speaks with Claudine, founder of Promama, an Italian startup working to make workplaces genuinely more family friendly. Claudine shares how her own maternity leave experience - marked by silence, lost role clarity, and stalled progression - became the catalyst for building a data-driven solution to a systemic problem.Together, they explore what Italy’s parental-leave reality reveals about workplace culture, why good intentions aren’t enough without structure, and how companies can retain parents through simple but deliberate design choices. This is a rare peer-to-peer conversation with someone tackling the same challenge from a different national, cultural, and policy context—and uncovering lessons that travel far beyond borders.Whether you’re an HR leader, manager, or working parent, this episode offers a grounded look at what actually moves the needle when it comes to parental leave, retention, and performance.Inside this conversation, you’ll discover:How a maternity leave breakdown exposed a wider, systemic problemWhy nearly 1 in 5 Italian women leave the workforce after becoming mothersWhat “family-friendly” looks like in practice—not just in policyThe hidden cost of losing parents (and why retention is the real ROI)Where companies most often fail—and the low-effort fixes they missWhy flexibility is the single biggest enabler for working parentsWhat it takes to turn personal experience into scalable changeIn this episode we cover:00:00 Introduction to Claudine & the Career Turning Point03:31 When Maternity Leave Breaks Trust - and Careers09:29 The Data: Why This Is a Systemic Issue in Italy11:48 Building ProMama: From Personal Pain to Platform14:33 The 4 Pillars of a Truly Family-Friendly Company19:26 Retention, ROI & the Business Cost of Getting This Wrong32:36 Flexibility as the Foundation - and What to Change FirstAbout KundraKundra is building the future of parental leave.We believe ambition and parenthood can thrive together - and companies that embed equity into their foundations today will lead tomorrow.This podcast is part of our journey: speaking with working parents, business leaders, and HR innovators to surface the truths of career and parenting and the tools that make it work.We’re now opening up pilot programs for companies ready to rethink parental leave. If you’d like to see how Kundra can support your teams, email [email protected] for a demo.Want more from each episode?Subscribe to Kundra Notes for insights, recaps, and HR toolkitsFollow Kundra on LinkedIn for product updates and thought leadershipFollow Kundra on Instagram for stories, quotes, and behind-the-scenes