The forty fifth Annual Outstanding Mother Awards took place Thursday at The Pierre hotel in Latest York, honoring three women executives who’ve balanced motherhood with constructing impactful careers, despite structural barriers for working women.

The 2023 honorees were: Tracey Travis, executive vice chairman and chief financial officer of the Estée Lauder Cos.; Elizabeth Buchanan, chief business officer of e-commerce solutions platform, Rokt, and Monica Arnaudo, chief merchandising officer at Ulta Beauty.

Hosted by the National Mother’s Day Committee, the event raised greater than $800,000 for Save the Children. Among the many prizes auctioned off through the luncheon included an eight-day getaway to Cancun, Mexico; tickets to Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” and facials at Dr. Barbara Sturm’s spa.

“The twin role of mother and profession woman is not any easy task; it often means having to sacrifice. To achieve one role — let alone each — is an actual achievement,” said Natalie Pasquarella, the event’s mistress of ceremonies.

Each honoree took to the stage to share their experiences juggling motherhood and work, detailing each the challenges they’ve endured and the way gratifying their respective journeys have been.

“I’ve had many various roles in my life; indisputably, the one which has brought me probably the most happiness — and anxiety and worry at times — but mostly pride and joy, has been the privilege of a being mother of my two girls, Alexandria and Adrienne,” said Travis.

She added that, despite being told that raising children and occupying a C-suite role were “incompatible,” she has found the other to be true: “My life is proof that a profession journey could be a family journey; for me, each path has enriched the opposite,” she said.

Buchanan, meanwhile, described each of her five children as her “favorite child” in their very own way, looking for to uplift them just as they’ve uplifted her.

“My favorite child is Sarah, whenever you set the instance for me of tips on how to lead with love,” said Buchanan. Her daughter Hannah, she said, gives her hugs when she doesn’t realize she needs them; Charlotte reminds her tips on how to be a greater listener; Sophie, who was born with congenital heart disease and has endured several operations on her heart, has taught Buchanan “tips on how to have courage to climb a mountain,” while Buchanan’s son Baxter, she said, has taught her tips on how to relish the small yet beautiful moments.

Onstage, Arnaudo thanked her colleagues at Ulta for his or her unwavering support, and spoke on to her two children, Eric and Kayla, who she called her “best friends.”

“I’m so happy with the human beings that you’ve got turn into; I am keen on watching you evolve, grow and shine, and also you’re every thing to me,” she said.

Arnaudo touched on the difficulties that include taking good care of a family while climbing the company ladder as a lady.

“After I had my daughter, Kayla, my company set me up with a pc, a telephone and a fax machine, in order that I could work at home while I used to be on maternity leave,” she said, acknowledging that while much social and systemic progress has been made since then, there continues to be more work to be done.

“Doing higher could be as big as making policy changes, or as big as making company profit changes, but it could even be easy and little things — showing love and care and empathy for the people you’re employed with. Check in with them, see what they need, because sometimes it’s the little things that could make the most important difference,” she said.