Why working parents?
Building equity in the workplace for women begins with greater inclusion for all working parents. For workplaces to become more equitable, change is needed beyond good maternity packages and maternity leave transition schemes. It is multifaceted.
Organisations have a role to play
- Organisation design of a working week hasn't changed since the 1980s except now there is an expectation of always being connected
- The reality of flexible working today is resulting in fewer promotions or opportunities for progression compared to men, higher stress levels and burnout. 94% of women believe requesting flexible working will affect their likelihood of promotion, and 50% of all professional women who move to part-time transition to jobs classified as low-skilled
- Covid-19 demanded flexible working and hybrid arrangements - and showed it can be done. There is progress but still a long way to go to accept that flexible working, hybrid working and ultimately the expectations of how jobs are delivered needs to change. Not only for the good of working parents, but productivity, burnout, equality and retention.
We need to encourage and support working fathers
- The number of fathers taking shared parental leave is reducing, with only 27% of eligible fathers taking up the offer of leave in 2021. (Source: EMW report)
- We need policies, processes and cultures that are more accepting and encouraging for dads to take shared parental leave
- A key to career success for working mothers is greater shared domestic responsibility through parental leave or flexible working of working fathers
- Just over 1 in 2 dads believe fathers in their organisations are treated equally to mothers in regards to flexibility resulting in two thirds of dads having changed jobs or actively looking since becoming a father. (Source: The Millennial Dad at Work, 2019)
Enable and empower working mothers
- There is still a pipeline deficit of women transitioning into executive roles. This is largely due to the double bind working mothers face
- Constantly juggling work and caring
- Often the default person to collect or take time off when their children are sick
- Wanting to be more present with their kids but feeling the need to be always ‘on’, checking and responding to emails
- Trying to work flexibly but for organisations that expect full time equivalent output in less hours.
Government legislation needs to be fixed
- Underpinning all of the changes needed sits government policy that truly supports working parents and ultimately our economy. There are considerable flaws within the current policies for parents that are holding mothers and fathers back from realising the careers they’d like to have.