On Mother’s Day, I share my experience and the voices of four generations of inspiring Women of mine, offering a deeply personal reflection on what it means to be both a mother and a leader in a transforming world.
It is widely accepted that on Mother’s Day we celebrate a unique, profound, and transformative love. But we also honor the role of every woman who, as a mother, is a builder of a more prosperous, just, and humane world. I write this testimony through the lens of four generations, hoping it inspires other women to embrace their mission as mothers and leaders with pride.
I begin with a tribute to my mother. At 98 years old, the only surviving sibling among 15, she has already endured the loss of two children and two grandchildren. Yet, she speaks of motherhood with an almost divine strength, affirming, “Being a mother is everything. It’s the continuation of life. There are no words to describe what it means to be a mother.” In this brief testimony lies an entire lifetime—a certainty that withstands pain, time, and loss. To be a mother is more than giving birth: it is to love endlessly.
My daughter Catarina, also a mother, describes motherhood with touching clarity: “Being a mother is learning a form of love that doesn’t fit within us… wanting to be a safe haven forever… recognizing that parents always belong to their children, but children don’t always belong to their parents… It is the purest form of love.” Words that convey the fullness, the surrender, and the paradox of raising children to let them go.
Rita, my youngest daughter, simply states the essence: “Being a mother is reliving. It’s the greatest discovery, the greatest teaching, and the greatest learning. It’s knowing how to give and how to receive. Being a mother is being Love.” And perhaps that’s exactly it. Being a mother is living in constant renewal, inside and out.
My granddaughters, at such different ages, already feel what this feminine love is. Rita de Deus, at 13, says: “Being a mother must be loving someone more than yourself, feeling pride in everything, and wanting to care for and protect them forever.”
And Júlia, just 7 years old, captures the essence with childhood purity: “It’s having someone by my side who loves me and takes care of me.”
As for me, Conceição Zagalo, executive woman and mother, now actively engaged in social sector challenges during retirement, I can only say: “Being a mother is a gift and a constant proof of boundless love… Being an executive mother is bringing into the profession the love woven within the family. It’s building bridges between affection and action, between care and leadership.”
On this Mother’s Day, May 4, 2025, I recall Pope Francis, a fervent devotee of Mary, mother of all mothers. This year, we celebrate with hearts touched by his recent passing, yet more aware of the maternal strength that unites faith, compassion, and courage. On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of Portugal, I will renew this devotion.
Mother’s Day, which in Portugal is celebrated every first Sunday of May, is more than a date: it symbolizes the eternity of this love. It is also a call to action. Because being a mother is also about building the future, leading with empathy, shaping citizens, and influencing increasingly human organizational cultures.
Motherhood and leadership are not opposing spheres. Quite the contrary. I believe that the executive mother is often the first educator of a leadership style grounded in listening, resilience, and long-term vision. Therefore, I wish that every woman feels empowered to be a mother, a professional, a caregiver, a manager of collective well-being, and a catalyst for change. May we, women truly and wholeheartedly blessed with the gift of motherhood, continue to inspire, through example, societies that are more leading, happier, more sustainable, and more people-centered. And may this be the year we shed our timidity and say to someone without hesitation: “Mom, Thank You So Much!”
Conceição Zagalo