This mom didn’t have childcare for her job interview—so she brought her toddler along

What do you do when you’re job hunting but don’t have readily available childcare when it’s time to go to a job interview? Well, if you’re Maggie Mundwiller from St. Louis, you bring your toddler along. One; because a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do, and two; it’s a quick, easy way to find out just how family-friendly a company is.

Mundwiller was laid off due to the pandemic last year—right after returning to work post-maternity leave—and according to ABC News, she’s been looking for a job ever since. But with her husband working full-time and the pandemic raging, Mundwiller didn’t want to risk exposing her son to the virus.

This means when it comes to childcare, like many of us have been this year, she was totally stuck.

“It’s really disappointing because I’ve had to miss opportunities throughout COVID,” Mundwiller told ABC News. “The doctor’s recommendation was to keep him isolated, keep him at home. It was really just our family unit in our home so I didn’t have any additional support to help with Mylo while my husband would go to work and I was at home to even do a Zoom interview.”

Because of caring for Mylo, she’s even had to cancel at-home online interviews. So when she landed another interview, but told them she couldn’t secure childcare in time, the interviewer told Mundwiller that the company was “child-friendly”—so she decided to get Mylo ready for his first experience in the corporate world!

OMG Mylo! What an absolute doll! His hair is slicked, he’s wearing his sharpest suit, he brought his resumé, he is READY to secure his mama this job, OK??

“I was so excited and inspired,” Mundwiller told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “How cool is that — that a company would be so welcoming? It’s awesome to know that there are companies out there that are willing to work with parents and understand the struggles that parents are going through and just accommodate.”

It’s no secret that the pandemic has disproportionately affected women and other primary caregivers, with many women forced to stay home to care for their children or work from home full-time while their kids are home full-time. With so many companies rushing to return to “normal,” we really need to celebrate the companies and organizations who took care of their employees with families during the past year. Especially because women’s employment fell below 50% in the U.S. for the first time since the 1980s.

Oh, and if you’re wondering if Mom and Mylo secured the job? Well, congrats are in order!