How Businesses Can Support Moms at Work
Twinkly lights are nice but I’m going to still put my family first if that’s my only culture perk.
A few weeks ago a member in my favorite Facebook Group, Basecamp: Outdoor Jobs and More, posted a question about how moms like her could return to their career when they have a gap in their resume because they chose to leave the workforce to take care of their children. As soon as I saw this I moved from scrolling my phone on the couch and sat down at my computer. I was going to need a full keyboard to respond to this.
I have so many thoughts on this and am so sorry you are struggling with re-entering the workforce. I recently left my job after having my second baby and I too am terrified of when I start applying for jobs in the future.
Hiring moms is a great start for employers but there is so much more to that. Even if a workplace allows for flexible, goal-based schedules (ie. get your shit done and we don’t care how and when you do it is great), that is just the start. We need to be paid what a man would be paid given he probably has a few extra years of promotions and salary bumps when we were growing and raising babies (we were working on our logistics, prioritization, and keeping-humans-alive skills). And that’s not just because we have to pay for daycare (shouldn’t our partner’s salary also be included in the “is it even worth it to work since daycare costs so much?” conversation), but because we are skilled, educated, badass women who deserve it. Other than equal/good pay, because that should be obvious, the three most important things for keeping moms in the workplace are: 1) part-time career-track roles. Part-time does not mean you aren't as skilled or not learning as much as someone who is working full time. It does not mean that you can’t find or hold down a “real” job. It means you have other shit going on in your life other than work. And the role has to be career track. That means engineering, marketing, comms, leadership, management, etc. Just because you can’t/don’t want to work 40 hours a week doesn’t mean you don’t have dope talent to offer. Plus when you only have 20 hours to work you use those 20 hours VERY wisely. There are no bullshit hours when you work part time. 2) remote/flexible options. Moms need to do laundry, make lunches, make dinners, make breakfast, pump, take the dog to the vet, take the kids to the doctor, have a life other than work. Let them work from home when they need to (or as often as they like) so they can throw the laundry into the dryer before the next meeting instead of re-washing it for the third time because they forgot to before they went to work. And commutes are soul-sucking. So if you want your employees to have no souls when they get to work, make them commute. And there is also the environmental factor in there. No driving to work=less carbon emissions. 3) supportive culture. Build a culture that values people as people and all that they bring with them (kids, dogs, elderly parents, plants, hobbies, goals) not one where “Sally gets to work from home today because she has kids and the nanny called in sick. Ugh. That’s so unfair since I don’t have kids.” And when building that culture do salary audits to make sure women and BiPOCs are paid equally. And audits on staff to ensure you have mothers in leadership positions (like the ones that have titles like CEO and SVP). And please don’t just throw a keg and a ping pong table in the break room and call that your culture.
Message me if you want to talk about this. I've done a ton of research on working motherhood and would love to share. Hopefully it will help you find a job
I say the three most important things for keeping moms in the workplace, but I’ve rethought this and have a few more to add. Things are changing in this quasi post-COVID world so I’ll throw in my two cents for the changes we all should consider. And it doesn’t just benefit moms. It benefits us all. Want to be better business with happier, more productive employees, a leader in equality, generate higher ROI? Do these things:
Hire moms (especially if they have a mom gap. Those skills they acquired in that time are legit).
Pay women equitably. Close the gender pay gap.
Provide part-time, career-track roles. Just because someone can’t or doesn’t want to work their life away doesn’t make them a worthless employee.
Let people work from home. I get that face time is important. But it isn’t M-F, 9-5 important.
Supportive culture. There is a lot that goes into this one so let’s break it down
What are the expectations around work hours and responding to email? A supportive culture encourages employees to set boundaries around when they arrive and leave work (preferably before dinner) or sign on/off for remote employees as well as discouraging email, slack, calls after or before those hours. Encourage employees to remove email from their phones.
How does your company support parents? Patagonia HQ has a daycare on site that ALL employees have access to and is priced on a sliding scale. Last year right before the pandemic struck Basecamp (there is my favorite FB group again) interviewed Alyssa Kessler, a managing recruiter at Patagonia, on their podcast Outdoor Dream Jobs. My jaw was wide open the entire time I listened. Not only does Patagonia support employees through on-site child care (can you imagine taking a quick morning break to go give your kid a hug or breastfeed your baby?), but Alyssa described how during work trips she got to bring her baby AND her child’s main daycare provider with her. Told ya, jaw dropping. Guess how many moms do you think quit after they have kids there? Not many.
What kind of diversity is represented in your upper management and board? We’ll notice if it’s all white guys. And it’s not a good thing.
How to you speak to and treat your employees and future employees? Job descriptions and the interview process are very telling of a company’s culture. Red flag if the recruiter is so busy it takes you sending three check-in emails before they respond, even if they spin their neglect by saying they are in high-growth mode. Read=don’t have adequate resources or respect for your time.
Do you have a comprehensive paid parental leave program that is easy to understand and easy to actually use for the primary caregiver and their partner? I remember scoffing at a woman at one of my first jobs who shortly after she was hired announced she was pregnant. My ignorant 27 year-old self was like “how dare she secretly get a new job when she’s pregnant?” And then when she didn’t come back after her unpaid leave (oh, that’s right the company paid for TWO WEEKS LOL) I scoffed again: “how dare she?” That right there is culture and it isn’t a supportive one. I’ve worked for companies who have more supportive cultures and parental leave policies since then so I know how it can be. Now if I hear about a woman interviewing while pregnant or accepting a new role during her maternity leave I bow down to her badassery.
There is so much more that goes into this, but a good place to start with workplace culture is to ask “what do we do to support our employees?” A ping pong table, a keg and twinkly lights aren’t it, though I do really like twinkly lights.
