Career or Mum - it shouldn't be a choice!

"One in four mums cites discrimination in the workplace" according to CIPD's People Management Daily.  I read this article with a sense of dismay about the plight of working women across the UK and a silent epidemic that appears to be at play. The findings, from the law firm Slater & Gordon, revealed that being overlooked for promotion or seeing junior employees progressing faster up the career ladder are common complaints.

Contrast this to the recent research published by the Institute of Public Policy highlighting that one in three working mums are now the main breadwinners and there is a mismatch here.

Having spent the last fifteen years post university building a career in an area that I'm passionate about, I didn't want to be in a position where I had to put my career on the back burner because I was becoming a new mum. Of course my child is the most important thing in my life but I love my work and it is a part of who I am. To quote Confucius "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life", I'm lucky to be in this place working in an organisation that I'm aligned to, with a great team of people and importantly a family friendly culture.

If my organisation wasn't flexible enough to support my new working pattern, I'm not sure I could have made it work. From the moment I joined DPG it was clear to me that people sit at the heart of the business. It was so refreshing in my early days to hear one of the partners Cliff Lansley say "If your team are working beyond 5pm we will want to talk to you about why…!"

Wow.

I'm now Co-Managing Director at DPG alongside Robert Wagner. We share the MD responsibilities and this enables us to work flexibly together. Since returning from maternity I work four days a week and typically one of those is at home. I'm lucky to work with a great team and as a business we have a flexible working policy which we know is hugely valued.

Blocking opportunities to working women is truly shocking and nothing more than discrimination. Yes we may need more flexibility but there are many men out there too that are juggling the demands of career/family as well. This shouldn't be a gender issue anymore. From April 2015 the sharing of parental leave will enable parents to decide how they share care for their child in the first year after birth. This is a welcomed step forward that reflects changing family dynamics.

The way we work is changing too and organsiations need to change alongside this. The days of 9-5 are pretty much behind us. The use of social tools and web-enabled devices means that we can work more smartly at a time that suits us. We no longer need to be anchored to our workstations. We need business leaders to reframe their expectations and harness flexible working to make sure they retain key talent whilst supporting the aspirations of their female and male employees.

Early starts, late finishes, home working and so on can benefit our businesses in many ways. With the continued war on talent organisations need to make retention a key priority.  In this day and age work is something we do (and do a lot more of….) not just a place we go to anymore. If organisations extend flexibility they get it and more back tenfold. That is our experience.

Can you share what experiences you've had?

Has your organisation provided flexibility?

What happens when flexibility isn't available?

I'd love to hear from you.

Sarah

Votes: 0
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of DPG Community to add comments!

Join DPG Community

Comments

  • Hi, a very interesting blog and something I can relate to as a mum of two young children. I agree that culture has a lot to do with it, in addition to economic considerations. Values also come into play as well. What is the right decision for one woman/family may not be right for another, it isn't a case of one size fits all.

    I clearly remember being told by someone when I was at home for a period of time looking after my children that it wasn't 'work' and that it wasn't fair that my husband had to go out to work all day! At the time our son was in and out of hospital with chronic wheezing/infections and we had a daughter with colic. All water under the bridge now but I look back on those days as being very hard! I do feel that in the UK being a 'stay at home mum' (or 'future generation development manager' I prefer) isn't valued by society as it is in some countries, like Germany.

    For me the balance I now have working for DPG and as a self-employed coach is perfect. I love my work and the challenge it gives me and I can balance this with looking after our children and doing the 'house frau' tasks! :-) Although I do have a tendency to moan about the latter....especially the magic wash basket which is never empty. Perhaps I need an incentive scheme? ;-)

  • Hi Fids, you raise a really interesting point about this being more than flexible working and it is very much linked to the culture in which we live in and have grown up in. Times have changed in the respect of it is a given that the man will be the bread winner and mums stay at home to look after the kids however as you point out lots employers don't make this easy and there are very few incentives.

    I'm not sure the approach in Germany is the right one either as to offer massive tax breaks to the man to me seems like this will never change the attitude that woman can be great mums and have a serious / rewarding career. It's a combination of somewhere in-between flexible employers / working and getting the right incentives and support in cheaper childcare.

    I do wonder though when the sharing of parental leave comes in to affect how much and how quickly this will change family dynamics and how this will be handled by employers. Not sure what or how much change this will bring - interesting times ahead

  • Hi

    I read this article with great interest as I can so relate to what you are saying,  and it got me thinking.

    8 out of ten of my friends all mums,  are back in the workplace thankfully with flexible employees, mostly we are of the generation aged 30+ can no longer afford to be a stay at home mums,  because their partner/husband incomes are just not like generations before,  even the ones with good careers. 

    We also like going to work and feel it gives us a good balance with our work/home life and keeps us sane!  I hope I'm setting a good example to my kids in years to come.

    As a mum of 4 year old twins,  you are completely engrossed in your pregnancy and planning your maternity,  it usually isn't until your back in the workplace,  when suddenly appointment after appointment start to pop up,  and you have not even thought about this before,  I had twice the number with the twins.  Thankfully DPG are one of these employers who are flexibility,  without this I would have been forced to find a different job. 

    Employers need to remember,  that as mothers we bring a lot of good aspects to the workplace,  we are constantly juggling the kids, planning outside of the workplace,  and we bring these skills to the workplace.

    I believe if you work for the right employer it is possible to have it all!

    Deb Booth

  • This is a very cultural debate.  Germany has a thriving economy (relativeley) and as usual their manufacturing industry is still churning out a quality product even during a World wide recession.  The attitude in Germany is your a mother, stay at home and bring up baby and we'll give your husband a serious tax inxentive and you very cheap child care to ensure you do if ylou want more than one child.

    In Britain there is little insentive to return to work (especiallly for the lower paid jobs), my daughter who gave birth last December will be out of pocket gloing back after maternity leave, childcare as we know is the game breaker for the majority of working mums.

    Having lived in Germany for a decade I saw how they get it right in so many ways at work but we in Britain are slaves to the stockholder who reaps your payrise and tells you that your not working hard enough. 

    Forget flexibilty its national culture that needs to change to ensure that the work / life balance and fairer treatment of working mums is achived ,  I don't think this issue can be neatly wrapped up with a few well chosen questions when we all work for PLC's.

  • Hi Sarah

    I read your blog with interest, as a mum to three teenagers, who works full time and has always worked, I believe career & motherhood is possible and there doesn't have to be a choice, as long as the employer and employee are able to be flexible and honest with each other. Communication is key. I think I have heard this before!

    My experience is that women who work and have children are some of the best workers and that employers who recognise this are the ones who benefit.

    My CV must look at nightmare, as I have regularly moved employers and jobs in HR/L&D over the last 17 years. I was; and still am determined to have a career but be a good mum too. So when it has been difficult to do both; and my employer hasn't been flexible I have moved on. I've been lucky to have the skills and experience to obtain new roles, which have kept me in great jobs and I've still been there for my children. But has been left to me and my determination to drive this more than the employers  I have worked for.

    At times  balancing a career and children  can be stressful and this is where women need a supportive employer, who can listen and be flexible. That call from a school where you have to go, but a key report is due in too,  or the need to adjust hours to attend appointments or school events; when you are needed in a key meeting often causes the women to feel "bad". Here is where a good employer provides the support and flexibility.  I feel that at the moment this is what I have in my employer but I have had many experiences with other employers where systems and processes have got in the way of flexibility and support.

    What I really find it hard to believe is some employers we are no further forward in providing the support and flexibility for women than they were 17 years ago when I started my juggling act.

This reply was deleted.

Get Involved

Start a discussion in one of the following Zones