Maningbè Keita Fakeye, PhD

“Can I bring my baby to the interview?” The message came in at 11 PM: “Hi, I have an interview with you tomorrow at 2 PM. My childcare fell through. Can I bring my 8-month-old? I understand if you need to reschedule.” Old me would have rescheduled. Unprofessional. Distraction. Red flag. New me replied: “Absolutely. See you tomorrow.” She showed up with her baby on her hip. She apologized three times before even sitting down. Ten minutes in, the baby started crying. She tried to soothe him while answering questions. She apologized again. I stopped the interview and said: “Hey. You’re managing a fussy baby, answering complex questions, and staying calm under pressure. That’s literally the job. Handling chaos while staying professional. You’re already proving you can do it.” Her eyes filled with tears. We hired her. She’s been with us for a year now. The most reliable team member we have. Why? Because when you’re used to handling a screaming infant at 3 AM and still showing up to work the next day, workplace stress feels like nothing. Working parents, especially mothers, are some of the most organized, efficient, and resilient people you’ll ever hire. Yet we lose them because our hiring processes are built for people with zero caregiving responsibilities. If your interview process can’t accommodate a parent facing a childcare issue, you’re not filtering for professionalism. You’re filtering for privilege.