MATRI
In Support Of The Working Parent
We partner with organisations to support employees through pregnancy, parental leave and return to work - protecting confidence, capability and long-term retention at a critical stage of the career journey.
Meet Sophie Maunder, MATRI founder and Parental Coach
The hard truth...
Parental leave and returning to work can involve major changes and challenges across every area of life, personal, professional, physical, financial and emotional.
The statistics show us that for some, this change feels just too hard, and a lack of support means they leave their roles, when this hadn't ever been their intention.
This transition isn’t just logistical.
It affects confidence, identity, ambition, relationships and performance — often long before an employee actually leaves work, and long after they return.
How MATRI Supports Working Parents
MATRI programmes are designed to fit around real working lives.
Support is provided through a structured online platform that combines:
- On-demand content parents can access at any time
- live group coaching and expert webinars for working mothers
- practical tools and frameworks to support real-world conversations
- a professional online community
MATRI does not replace existing policies or benefits.
It sits alongside them — filling the gap between policy and lived experience.
This structured, human support directly addresses the lack of confidence, clarity and connection highlighted in MATRI’s research.
LEARN MOREOur Programmes
Two programmes, designed to support both mothers and fathers, because parental transitions don’t affect one person alone
The Working Mothers Programme
An 18-month maternity journey combining video content, live group coaching webinars, guest expert sessions and a supportive professional community.
The Working Fathers Programme
A flexible, video content programme for fathers taking parental leave at any length, designed to fit around work and family life.
Why this matters to organisations
Parental leave is often treated as an operational process.
In reality, it’s a defining professional moment — for parents and for the organisation.
A defining moment
for retention
MATRI’s research shows that more than one in four mothers either do not return to work after maternity leave or leave within a year of returning, most often due to poor return-to-work support and inflexible practices.
Confidence and anxiety affect both parent
Only 1 in 5 women say they feel confident returning to their role after maternity leave, while 56% of men taking paternity leave report feeling anxious about returning to work.
The cost to business
is real
UK businesses are estimated to lose over £647 million each year in recruitment costs and lost productivity linked to inadequate support for working parents.
Handled poorly, this transition quietly erodes confidence, capability and trust.
Handled well, it becomes a powerful opportunity to retain experienced talent, support healthier parental dynamics, and strengthen long-term organisational performance.
Led by Sophie Maunder
Sophie Maunder is a parental transition coach with a senior leadership background in high-pressure, high-performance environments.
After navigating pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work herself - while operating at board level - Sophie founded MATRI to address a gap she saw repeatedly: talented parents leaving not because they lacked ambition or capability, but because they lacked structured support at the moment they needed it most.
Sophie’s work sits at the intersection of leadership, identity, performance and parenthood. She combines evidence-based coaching with lived experience to help organisations support working parents in a way that is practical, credible and human.
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Working in partnership with organisations
MATRI works with organisations across sectors to support:
- retention of experienced talent
- smoother return-to-work transitions
- stronger engagement post-leave
- healthier, more sustainable working-parent dynamics
Programmes are scalable, confidential for participants, and supported by MATRI throughout delivery.
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Let’s talk
Every organisation is different.
Every workforce has different needs.
If you’re exploring how to better support working parents - or want to understand whether MATRI is right for your organisation - we’d love to have a conversation.
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