🎙️Episode 16: Not a Mom, But Always There

This episode is personal.

As Mother’s Day approaches, host Gia shines a light on a group of women who are often overlooked — women without children of their own who still carry the weight of care, responsibility, and leadership every day.

Gia shares her own story as a survivor of ovarian cancer, childless not by choice, and deeply present in the lives and work of others. In the logistics industry, where long hours and constant demands are the norm, childless women are often assumed to have “less to juggle.” This episode challenges that narrative.

We talk about:

• The invisible caregiving roles many women carry
• Why childless women are often first to be asked to cover, stay late, or fill gaps
• How unacknowledged care leads to burnout — and operational risk
• What managers and teams can do to recognize caregiving in all its forms

This conversation isn’t just about motherhood.
 It’s about presence.
 It’s about fairness.
 It’s about seeing people fully — on and off the clock.

This Mother’s Day, remember:
 Not all mothers raise children.
 Some raise teams.
 Some raise standards.
 Some hold everything together.

An intro of what we do

Transcript

Speaker 0:23

Alright, y'all. Hey, hey, hey, it's your girl Gia. And welcome back to Holding the Line, a logistics at a Crossroads podcast. In this episode 16 from way back in 2025, I was recovering from gallbladder surgery, so I did not get to record this. So I'm coming here in the new year in 2026 to go ahead and record episode 16. It's gonna be out of order, and that's fine. Um because this one's a little too personal, and I was really raw after recovery. So this one goes out to those women who don't get a card this weekend or any Mother's Day. Not a mom, but I'm always there. And I am one of those. I am childless not by choice. I'm a survivor f Ovarian cancer. Now, this disease doesn't just take health, but possibility. And yet, I still show up. I help others, I lead, and I care. And today I'm going to talk about what it means in business to be not a mom, but always there. Because in business, or in my case, in logistics and shipping and transportation, we move containers, coordinate teams, run operations with clockwork precision. But there's no KPI for the emotional weight some of us carry. And a lot of people, a lot of business managers and co-workers think just because someone doesn't have kids, they have fewer responsibilities. But that's not the full story. Many of us have significant others, and many of us are caregivers in other ways. To our parents, to our siblings, to our nieces and nephews, to our friends' kids, to our friends, and to our community. And childless women in business are treated differently than childless men in business, because the woman is the first one to cover. They are called on first to fill gaps, to stay late. And we do it not because we have to, but because we do care about our jobs, about our company, about our coworkers. But care without acknowledgement leads to a burnout you have never seen or understood. And in a high-stakes industry like logistics, logistics, see, I'm still struggling with this one. Burnout affects more than just morale. It kind of hits your operations. If you're a manager or even just a teammate, consider this. Remember this. Don't assume someone has less to juggle because they're not a parent. Let me say that again. Just because I don't have kids doesn't mean I have less responsibilities out there. You know, the ones who don't have kids are the ones taking care of our parents in other ways. We need time off to handle appointments just like you do. See people for what for more than what's listed on their emergency contact sheet. And balance time off fairly. When we start 2026, remember not all mothers raise children. Some raise teams, some raise spirits, some raise standards for what it means to care. And if that's you, this episode was for you. Because, ladies, you are seen, you are appreciated, and you are needed in this world more than you could ever know. So fight for your days off just like everyone else. Don't allow management or your coworkers to bully you into giving up your time off because they didn't plan accordingly. You deserve it too. You deserve that moment to breathe. Do not carry the guilt. Everyone at your company is given time off, whether it's PTO, whether it's sick leave, whether it's whatever, however, it's set up, first come, first served. Not, I've scheduled my time off three months in a row, and then here comes Bobby Joe, Julie, Jack, Jim, George, Frankenstein saying, Oh, I forgot about this. That is not your responsibility, that is on them. If you want to switch time, 100% do it. But that time off was approved for you. Take your time. Help out when you can, or if you can juggle things around, sure. But don't allow them to assume you're going to give up your days off. Remember, I'll be there and I'll be here navigating these crossroads with you. Because this podcast is about where life and logistics meet.