Former Girl Bosses Are ‘Leaning Out’ to Redefine What Ambition Looks Like

Style|From Girl Boss to No Boss

The day she was laid off, Simone Jordan felt joy.

At 44 years old, she’d been working ever since she was 15 when she got her first job at Six Flags. The daughter of a single mother, not working had never felt like an option. She paid for college through a work-study program, then climbed the corporate ladder in New York City to become an executive at Unilever.

But the early years of the pandemic drained Ms. Jordan. Her job involved scrambling to help Black-owned small businesses stay afloat in the face of Covid-19 closures and navigating the summer of racial justice protests. She’d also gotten engaged and, in 2022, gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 40, after decades spent sidelining her personal life for her career.

As new mothers go, Ms. Jordan was fortunate. She had a dedicated partner, paid maternity leave, and could afford a nanny. But she realized she didn’t want more child care. She wanted more time with her child. “I waited this long to have this glorious little boy,” she said. “I wanted my moments.”

So when Unilever eliminated her role as part of widespread layoffs last fall, Ms. Jordan decided not to return to full-time work. After a life spent “leaning in,” she decided, for now, there might be other things worth leaning in to.