For more than 30 years, Working Mother's 100 Best Companies Awards have set the bar for what it means to be a family-friendly workplace. We are pleased to make the “Working Mother 100 Best Companies” list for the seventh consecutive year for outstanding leadership in creating progressive programs, advancement of women, flexibility, childcare and paid parental leave and more.
In this feature, we recognize and celebrate our incredible 2019 Working Mother of the Year, Shannon McGinnis.
On being raised by her grandmother …
My grandmother stepped in to raise me in my formative years. She grew up on a farm in Oakfield, Georgia as part of a very large family. One of many siblings, she grew up in an era when kids were not coddled, and she was expected (from a very young age) to help provide for her family and take an active role in raising her younger brothers and sisters. This tough childhood made her a bit rough around the edges but even so, she was extremely loving to me as a child. I like to say she was the perfect balance of nurture and discipline and was careful to ingrain the same values and principles in me that she grew up with: 1) you are enough; 2) be kind to people because you may be the only kindness they see; 3) do not let the voice of doubt tell you that you are not good enough; and 4) make sure your integrity stays intact because the truth always wins.
Nowadays, I cringe at the memories of me being a sassy teenager and rebelling against my grandmother (at times). But being a mom now myself, I finally understand that she was always right; every piece of advice, every teachable moment, every disciplinary action was 100% on the mark. I feel blessed that she not only took me in but helped to guide me through my youth; that, in itself, is a legacy worth teaching my children by allowing them to live it.