Becoming a mother heralds a dramatic change in the lives of Australian women. New mothers go from spending a weekly average of two hours caring for others to a staggering 51 hours. And when women become mothers, they also increase the time they spend on housework, like cooking, cleaning and washing, leaping from a weekly average of 16 hours to 25 hours in not much more than the blink of an eye. Statistics like these bring the whole issue of gender equality into a new realm. 

Married with three daughters, Nicolette Rubinsztein (author of 'Not Guilty') has lived this conflict and come out the other end with a well-developed plan for how to smooth the way to a happier and fairer household for the working mother. Having led strategy for Colonial First State, the wealth management arm of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 12 years, during the first 2 years of which she also had her first baby, Nicolette knows more than most about thinking her way out of a problem. Despite reducing her hours to become part time, she managed to retain her rank and position as one of Colonial's general managers and go on to have two more children as well. How did she do it? 

// Hosted by Judy Stewart // Produced by Leonie Marsh // Sound Engineers: Lana Kristensen and Jason Millhouse // Research Assistant: Claudia Cameron // Instagram: @_unpaused // Website: www.unpaused.net