It can be challenging enough to juggle parenting with working as a professional in veterinary practice, let alone to allocate time, energy and resource to progress in our careers. Even where we have the personal capacity, there can be extrinsic factors, such as lack of childcare or pro-rata CPD budgets that present barriers to career development. RCVS Facts data shows that the number of MRCVSs identifying as female drops rapidly with advancing age, with even fewer represented in leadership roles, and surveys show career progression is key to satisfaction and retention in practice for both vets and nurses. In this session, we'll discuss together the intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to career progression, the impact this may have on motivation, job satisfaction and retention, and discuss how we can working parents are empowered to have long, fulfilling veterinary careers within and beyond the clinic.