Lynn Houmdi’s Founder story

Image credit - MJK Photography, 2025.

I'm Lynn Houmdi, Founder of Flexible Working Scotland.

When I became a mum at 42, I suddenly realised how hard it is to return to work once you have had time out and/or have other non-negotiable commitments to work around. After a year as a mum, I thought I wanted to get a ‘proper job’, as opposed to the bits and bobs of remote freelancing I had been doing immediately before and after giving birth. I started looking at job ads. I quickly realised that without the confidence I had childcare in place, I couldn’t confidently apply for jobs. But childcare in my neighbourhood didn’t seem flexible enough to adapt to a potential change in my requirements once I secured a role. Despite the fact I was desperate to get out of the house and do something for myself, I knew I did not want our son to be in nursery full-time at the tender age of one. I observed that jobs advertised as flexible or part-time were seldom commensurate with my skills. I became introduced to the Gender Pay Gap.

Lynn's graduation from the University of Edinburgh, 2018.

Once I took the time to listen, all around me I heard stories of women being made redundant while on maternity leave; of having to take work which was not commensurate with their skills just to fit it around caring commitments, or being stuck in a position which accommodated those commitments but unable to move upwards or even sideways because other jobs were not as flexible. And these were largely well-educated, eloquent, highly-skilled women. I could only imagine how hard it is for single mums, women who have limited formal education or work experience, or those juggling work around the Kafkaesque benefits system.

Uncertain how to square the circle of employment and childcare, I signed up for a Master’s I had had my eye on for six years. I freelanced as a virtual assistant through a two-year course. I used this time to research what happens to women who take a career break. I began to follow influential voices in this field such as Joeli Brearley (Founder of Pregnant then Screwed) and Anna Whitehouse (Mother Pukka) and realised - long before the pandemic - the potential of flexible working to make work more inclusive and to enable employers to access talent. I graduated from Edinburgh University with an MSc in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies in autumn 2018.