Mon, Mar 7, 2011
What Employers Can Do To Recruit and Retain Working Mothers
Posted by Rachael Ellison
As a career coach and organizational-development consultant working with many new parents, I hear the stories everyday from passionate, driven professionals: from a woman who can’t take a day off to be with her kids without the blackberry constantly buzzing; or from working mothers who hide on the floor of their offices, backs against the door, when it is time to pump.
There are stories of maternity leaves abruptly cut short, bosses suddenly finding new “problems” with their pregnant employee’s work and letting them go—and the lawsuits that followed. One woman got this sage wisdom from a senior partner: “If you want to succeed in this business you better have a nanny that can stay late.”
Many women feel they are forced to choose between their career aspirations and their roles as mothers, as if they can no longer be taken seriously in their fields with little ones at home. There is a perception among some employers that a woman who chooses to start a family is somehow a less committed professional than her male counterparts or women who don’t have children.
Check out my site to see how coaching could benefit you. Read the Reworking Parents blog for my reflections, tips and tricks for achieving the best fit for your work and life.
The woman who chooses to start a family is seen as having divided loyalty between her personal and professional life. She may be seen as a transient member of the team, someone who is not worth the same investment.
It doesn’t have to be this way. With adjustments to organizational policies and culture, we can close the gap between the professional horizons of working mothers, working fathers, and their colleagues.
4 Ways For Employers To Make A Major Impact for Working Mothers
To start us off, here are four strong suggestions that can have a major impact on the professional outlook for working mothers and their employers.
1. Let’s Dump Unhelpful Phrases like “Mommy Track” or “On-Ramping and Off-Ramping.”
Yes, employees make decisions about when—and if—they take time off to be with their kids. Employees also decide to go back to school while working, or to take care of an elderly parent: this doesn’t mean they are not committed to their work. It means that, like all of us, they are balancing their personal and professional needs.
As this study by Working Mother Media illustrates, if a mom chooses to be at work, he or she wants to be respected and valued. Parents don’t want to be pushed off to the side, or given less engaging assignments.
2. This Is Not Just A Woman’s Issue.
It is vital that employers regard this as a company challenge—important for all individuals and for the health of the organization—not only an issue for female employees. Paternity leave and flextime are often not as readily available to men, and men don’t feel as comfortable taking it. Companies should encourage male employees to engage in the work-life conversation.
If we level the expectations for both genders, we will not have such an insurmountable disparity in the opportunities available to men and women. This TED talk by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg offers a powerful perspective on leveling the playing field.
3. Flexibility Means Redefining Our Concept of Work.
There are many kinds of flexible work arrangements (job shares, telecommuting, etc.), and not all of them will work for every company or every employee. At the heart of the concept of flexibility, though, is the notion that work can be re-imagined. Work should be about producing results and accomplishing goals, not about logging hours at a desk or showing up at a specific hour.
The evidence is overwhelming that employees will work harder and more efficiently when they feel they have control over their own time (the embedded video from Life Meets Work is definitely worth watching). When a parent needs to pick up her child at day care and still deliver a report by the morning, a flexible atmosphere can allow her to satisfy all her obligations—on her own time, using her own best judgment. If we measure commitment by who stays at the office the latest, parents will always fall behind.
4. Parents do have unique needs. Don’t Let That Stand In The Way of Retaining Talent.
We should fully acknowledge that many of these accommodations—such as generous paid leave programs or child-care support—are time-consuming and expensive. These vital conversations can also be difficult ones. Still, the long-term benefits are clear: the return on your investment will be loyalty and productivity from a motivated and capable talent pool.
Countless respected institutions, including the Families and Work Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have demonstrated that offering these kinds of programs and developing these sensitivities is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Companies that excel in these areas see great benefits in retention, recruitment, efficiency, and innovation. In short, addressing these challenges is more than worth the effort.
March 8, 2011 marks the global centenary of International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. MonsterThinking will be recognizing IWD’s 100th anniversary celebration by looking at the issues, and ideas, confronting women in the workforce.
For more on International Women’s Day, Excelle, Monster’s professional community for career-minded women,has handpicked the best articles and advice to help you get your foot in the door. Check out their 2011 International Women’s Day coverage by clicking here.
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About the Author
Rachael Ellison, MA is a coach and organizational development consultant. She helps people and organizations find creativity and productivity and guides them toward getting the right mixture of both.She completed her advanced degree in Social and Organizational Psychology and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University. She gained invaluable training and experience in organizational change management, group dynamics, social intelligence, appreciative inquiry, executive and personal coaching. When she’s not coaching, consulting or mediating, she’s working with her two favorite people-her husband and daughter-on living a happy family life.Check out Rachel's site to see how coaching could benefit you. Read the Reworking Parents blog for reflections, tips and tricks for achieving the best fit for your work and life.11 Responses to “What Employers Can Do To Recruit and Retain Working Mothers”
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March 8, 2011 at 1:24 PM
I could not agree more. In many ways, defending unequal pay for equal work in the US for women who are ramping on or off is the product of two things:
1. Sloppy leadership, management practices, and company cultures that support principles of internal competition between employees that look for ways to knock good employees out of the game to reduce the wage scale.
2. Ignorance of personal and professional self-actualization potential in the workplace and what this means for loyalty and employee engagement.
In a country that is ramping up its recovery and in organizations that are beginning to hire again, discovering up front what the employement policies are for both women and men who value family, life balance and equal pay for equal pay is important. In an economy that will lose the boomers within the next 8-10 years followed by a small age group work pool (Gen x) there will not be enough quality employees to go around.
Organizations will change to fill their employment funnel or they won’t. My advice is to not settle for less than you are worth or a job that disregards family leave policies. And, consider starting your own businesses.
There is no reason why women or men need to play the baby Aspirin game with their ill children to retain their jobs. None what so ever.
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March 8, 2011 at 6:05 PM
Smart thinking and commentary, Rachael. The rules continue to change in the middle of the game. As a grandma now, I remember when middle-class women were criticized for staying home or questioned as to why they’d want to “push the world around.”
What hasn’t changed is the condition that women are still put into a “choice” mode, perhaps a bit more subtle today, but men are rarely asked to make these considerations. So, the Mommy Track dilemma will be with us while women are viewed as primary caretakers, not simply a parent.
On another note, in celebration of IWD, please consider completing the poll at http://www.positivepotentials.com on how women lead projects differently.
Regards,
Michelle Cubas, CPCC
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March 10, 2011 at 5:27 PM
Thanks so much for this article and the link back to the MomsRising blog as well. This is such an important topic for employers to engage on.
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March 10, 2011 at 9:47 PM
Thanks for your responses.
@Dianne I love your advice not to settle for less and maintain high standards for leave policies.
@Michelle I completely agree that as long women are in choice mode, and considered primary caregivers, it will be hard to move past these terms. I believe we need to change the rules at home and at work simultaneously in order to make progress. So nixing this kind of shorthand is an important step forward.
@Alice I’m a big fan of MomsRising. Thanks to you and organization leading the charge on so many fronts.
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March 10, 2011 at 9:49 PM
Sorry not Alice, @Anita!
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March 19, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Terrific post, Rachael!
It drives me crazy to hear businesses use language like “mommy track”. It’s so patronising, and it ends up being yet another thing that makes makes mothers returning to work feel marginalised and “different” at a time when some at least are seeking reassurance that they’re still part of the team.
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March 30, 2011 at 2:31 AM
Gender Bind / Unfair Share
In Times of India [ March 08,2011 ], Ms. Rema Nagarajan provides following insights :
Women own 1 per cent of the world’s wealth, have a 10 per cent share in global income
Women comprise half the world’s population but occupy just 14 per cent of leadership positions in the private and public sector
Of the 1.4 billion people living on less than $ 1 a day, 70 per cent are women and girls
Women do two-thirds of the world’s work, but earn only 10 percent of the income
Women produce half of the world’s food, but own just 1 per cent of its land
Of the almost 900 million adults worldwide who can’t read or write, two-thirds are women
Will mankind [ on “ Women’s Day “ 2011, should I say, womankind ? ] manage to bridge this gap by end of 21st Century ?
With regards
hemen parekh
Jobs for All = Peace on Earth
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