May 2026 Edition

Jun 30
3 min read

Welcome to The Journal

Lately, it feels like everyone is producing content. Videos talking to the camera. Opinions packaged as expertise. Polished lives presented as reality.

Somewhere in the middle of all that noise, many of us are craving something simpler: Real conversations. Real lows and highs. Real community.

Instagram once felt like a place where connection happened naturally. You’d DM someone you admired and had never met in real life. Following someone’s life used to feel inspiring. For women doing it all especially the women navigating careers, motherhood, ambition, and full lives all at once. However, it doesn’t feel like a place of connection anymore…

Now, many of us are feeling the shift. Algorithms are unclear. Everything sounds the same. How one presents themselves online is their brand could be different to IRL. Most content these days is intended to sell. AI is flattening people into the same tone, the same templates, the same version of success. Also people aren’t living their life, they’re living to film highlights of their life.

We still want community, but in ways that feel more meaningful.

As we step into summer, we’re thinking even more intentionally about the spaces we want to build around us as a community: Less performative, more honest, and more human.

What’s New

This year, we’ve been thinking more deeply about family life, not just motherhood.

For too long, women have carried these conversations privately. Marriage. Parenting. Money. Ambition. Partnership. Emotional labor. Shared responsibility. We want to create spaces where families, couples, and fathers become part of the conversation too.

Work in Progress

Marriage is hard work.

Not bad. Not broken. Just hard. And yet, most of us enter it with no real framework for how to navigate the things that shape it most: values, alignment, money, communication, stress, parenting, ambition, resentment, time.

We’re handed checklists for wedding planning. Very little for building a life together.

Lately, more women in our community have been asking deeper questions:

What actually creates alignment and trust in a marriage? How do couples stay connected while raising children, building careers, and carrying invisible mental loads? How do we design a family life that feels intentional and wonderful for the family, and not reactive?

Maybe these conversations shouldn’t happen privately and only when things fall apart. Maybe we start building those frameworks together as families and communities.

Pivot to Power

We met Zein Zurub in the early days of Crunchmoms in 2022.

She was full of ideas, energy, and ambition for what might come next. We still remember her line to us, which will forever stick with us: 'i love Crunchmoms. I’m forever Crunchmoms.'

Life happened. Adulting sometimes isn’t fun. There were moments of growth. Moments of pause. Moments that reshaped her priorities completely.

After her second baby, something became clearer: she wanted to build differently. She was on a mission to find her purpose.

She immersed herself in conversations around values, money, identity, and intentional living. And slowly, what began as small gatherings and a group chat evolved into something much bigger.

Today, Arab Women Connect has grown into a thriving UAE community connecting thousands of Arab women and recently she launched a pop-up dedicated to supporting Arab-owned businesses.

All this in less than a year. What stands out most is how organically it grew.

We’re incredibly proud of you, Zein!

In Brief

Last month, we launched The Catalog, a special edition directory spotlighting women-led businesses across the UAE.

The response was overwhelming. But building a business also means facing difficult decisions.

Sometimes growth looks like expansion. Sometimes it looks like letting go.

Retykle Middle East, an established Dubai-based circular fashion platform for children, is now exploring transition opportunities and searching for a new chapter of leadership.

For the right leader, operator, or purpose-driven entrepreneur, it could become something meaningful under new leadership. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to the team at Retykle Middle East -- Armelle Liverton at +971507983983 or hey@crunchmoms.com to get in touch.

Also worth knowing: The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Development Authority is launching the fourth cycle of its Parent-Friendly Label for companies across the UAE. The Parent-Friendly Label recognizes organizations that actively support parents through workplace policies and practices that improve employee wellbeing and early childhood outcomes.

Previous recipients were honored by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

Could your company be one of them? Learn more about the Parent-Friendly Label

Leadership starts internally. The way you communicate, make decisions, navigate pressure, and lead others is deeply connected to self-awareness.

This June, we’re hosting a two-part leadership development series focused on being a strong leader with high emotional intelligence, personal growth, and understanding of yourself more deeply—at work, at home, and in relationships.

Part 1 → Leadership Development Session One

Part 2 → Leadership Development Session Two