Claire Jordan skilfully juggles career and motherhood. Motherhood came “relatively late” in life and Claire laughs when she says “they call me an elderly primagravida. That is the term they use for first-time mothers over 35.”
In her office with phones constantly ringing, the Scotiabank executive sits before her computer counting down to a scheduled conference call, trying to beat the clock to accommodate the interview in which she discusses her life as mother and busy executive.
“You will find that my life is very structured and it has to be – all part of being a working mother,” she remarks before taking another call.
That work/life balance has been very difficult, Claire remarked, “Anyone who says it is easy is either not doing a good job at one or the other because both require tremendous commitment and the more senior you are in an organisation the more is expected of you.”
She is Scotiabank’s director of branch banking, overseeing all facets of individual customer needs, her area of responsibility covering the Eastern Caribbean.
“I am glad that I work at Scotiabank” she said. “Scotiabank has a whole programme . . . to support women reaching high levels in business and I think I just add a different dimension, for example now being pregnant.”
Claire’s second child is due any day now and she believes it is important for young women in her organisation “to see that you can be a leader and a mother and a pregnant mother”.
She radiates a level of energy that defies her pregnant state and explains it away with “my DNA is a busy person, I don’t mind it but I think most working mothers are busy.”
The hectic routine and commitment do not escape her staff who often joke that their boss “inhales lunch over paper”.
The rate at which she goes simply illustrates the description once ascribed to her in an activity-based exercise conducted on the job. Each member of staff was asked to draw what best described them, put it in a hat without their name and let people guess who they thought it was. “Mine was a clock because I live my life from hour to hour; half hour to half hour; minute to minute – by blocks of what I have to get done.”
“Anytime something goes off, I have to reschedule that,” said Claire.
Why did she postpone motherhood? Actually she did not. “I had a plan I was going to be married at 28 and have my children by 32 and all those wonderful things. That was one of those romantic things long before you know what life is really all about.”
Instead once she entered the job market she just got to working. “I was very fortunate to have lots of opportunity on the professional front . . . every couple of years a very good professional opportunity came up” and she took advantage of them all.
Likewise, she took the marriage plunge only when she was satisfied she had found the right partner. Before, “I just did not meet the right person”. But she met Oliver Jordan, a busy executive like herself, and the whole picture changed.
“I live and work so that I can be a good wife and mother. It is a challenge because my husband’s job is also very challenging so we schedule a lot.”
The presence of five and a half-year-old Noah has made a tremendous difference in the Jordan household. The couple shares the school drop-offs and pick-ups and if one of them is travelling as both must do in their jobs, there is always support from family and friends.
The birth of her son, after she had been operating in the business world as a single woman for a long time demanded a shift in focus. “I think it gave me a different perspective because I had travelled, worked, lived and I now had a greater sense of appreciation (for motherhood).”
Claire said: “When you give life, all of a sudden you are like ‘Wow! I wasted all of this time before I got to this wonderful experience’ . . . . It was a very natural thing to become a mother because all of a sudden your protective instincts kick in and you have the need to look after this person.”
She views motherhood as “a joy” that “really defines who you are” and has wasted no time making the necessary adjustments to accommodate her son’s needs, especially as they relate to school. “You get a lot of guilt as a working mother because there are lots of things that happen at school so I have to schedule what I can do and how I can help.”
“I am not necessarily like other mothers who may be able to sit in the school yard and do things, but I do what my life allows me to do. I am one of these people that does not just drop my child at school and pick him up. I think if the school is in a fundraiser I have to do my part.”
Claire looks forward to the drive home, precious time to talk with Noah about his day, part of a narrow window for mother-son bonding since Noah’s bedtime is 7 p.m.
“I try to leave the office at 5:30 p.m. It does not always happen but by hell or high water I try to get home for 6 p.m. because I recognise that cuts into bedtime.”
With Noah tucked in, Claire said “I try to give my husband some quality time. He is often working at night as well so you will find that we sit together and work and between emails we chat about things.
“What it means is that you do not have regular hours as a mother who is an executive because it means that a lot of what you do, you have to take home and do it because you still want to have quality time with your child.”
People remark that Noah is “so polite” or “he knows so much about the world” and Claire is convinced there is something to being an older mother. She loses no opportunity to share her wisdom and when she and her husband discuss world affairs, their son must be part of that conversation.
She said, “My mum also got married a little bit late but that provided her with wisdom for her children. I gained a real appreciation that an older mother brings a very different experience to the table.”
From her father, Dr Oscar Jordan’s side of the family, the lesson was “working hard and doing well is very important to who you are as a person”.
She is building that sense of family within her own family, persuaded that family support is critical in creating a sense of self. “I hope that I can distil it and put it in my son and my nephews.”
What else does this busy mother want for her children?
“I want happiness and a sense of self because with that you get success. I want them to be happy, successful and self-assured. I want them to be good people because if you are a good person, everything else will come.”