When planning my return to work after maternity leave, I thought long and hard about all the mothers I had met during my corporate career. Was there anyone whom I looked up to? Anyone whose career path I would like to emulate? Who were my role models?
The importance of role models
To start with, I’ve not worked with a huge number of working mothers. Many of the more ‘successful’ mothers I met had maintained full-time working patterns with lots of paid help at home. This wasn’t an option for me. After struggling for over four years to have my daughter, I knew I didn’t want to return to work full-time.
So, I turned my thoughts to those mothers who had returned to work part-time after maternity leave. These individuals were, in the main, split into two categories. By far, the largest category was working 4 days a week. In reality, however, they were working full-time roles that they were trying to cram into fewer paid hours. They would regularly send emails when they were ‘off the clock’ – throughout the evening, on their days off, at weekends, and even from their sun lounger on holiday. To me, they just seemed frazzled and exhausted – as if their employer had overburdened them. They weren’t free to enjoy their children during their time off.
The other category comprised just a couple of individuals who had returned on 3-day working weeks. They were generally following the ‘mummy track’. By reducing their hours by two days, they had been sidelined. In effect, they’d been demoted to covering for their colleagues when they were on holiday and doing more administration tasks in the meantime. Not a recipe for a promotion or a pay rise!
Therefore, it seemed to me that you had to work like a man (AKA full-time) to continue climbing the career ladder, regardless of whether you were getting paid for those hours.
Like many mothers (in fact, all of my ‘mum friends’), I wanted to combine a progressive part-time role with caring responsibilities for my child. That’s right – I wanted to have my cake and eat it.
My friends and I are not anomalies. Research by the People’s Pension, published in their report The Gender Pay Gap: Tackling the Motherhood Penalty, states that “six out of ten mothers who return to work after children opt for part-time work… 44 per cent of the 5.4m women working part-time said they had downgraded occupations to do so.” Interestingly, their report adds, “The gender pay gap for full-time employees is at a record low, falling to 8.6 per cent in 2018 from 9.1 per cent in 2017. For full-time employees aged between 18 and 39 years, the gap is close to zero … women working part-time are on average paid 1/3 less than full-timers… Indeed, the overall gender pay gap when including part-timers is 18 per cent.”
Forbes has recently published an article on the importance of encouraging female aspirations in the workplace. They write, “As research shows, not being able to see other women who look and act like them succeeding in areas of interest to them discourages girls from pursuing such careers. On the flip side, when girls can readily see women rising, on their terms, it spurs their ambitions.”
I believe I am not the only mother who feels like this. I am convinced that a lack of realistic role models is a critical factor that drives many mothers to leave paid employment after having children. Many choose to become freelancers or self-employed. According to IPSE, there has been a steep rise in self-employment since 2008, driven by a 69 per cent increase in the number of highly skilled female freelancers choosing this way of working because of the freedom, flexibility and control it provides. Women want to see (and be inspired by) other individuals making work, work for them. If we can’t see others doing this, we think it is impossible and leave. It is a brain drain for companies and society alike. There is also a risk that some women may end up in a low-paid and insecure self-employment gig.
Celebrating women who are making work, work for them
As a young mother, I would love to see more working mothers progressing up the corporate career ladder, working on their terms without pretending they don’t have caring responsibilities at home. I don’t want to see women being granted part-time roles, but in reality, getting a full-time workload, but on less pay, or being sidelined for working part-time. This is just exploitation and, as I say, a real turn-off for ambitious women who want to combine their careers with motherhood.
I want women higher up the career ladder than me to speak out more honestly about the challenges and rewards of combining work and a family. It would be great to see more employers celebrate our part-time workforce and their success. For too long, pregnancy, motherhood and flexible working have been The Elephants in the Room and brushed under the carpet.
The Forbes article also highlights examples of women who’ve approached their career as a matrix rather than a ladder, which helps younger women think more laterally as they navigate their own career path. Knowing that there is not one linear path to follow can be both liberating and empowering. I agree with this sentiment entirely. Sometimes you need to take a break or a step back from your career for whatever reason. To know that this break isn’t the end, but perhaps just a chance for you to pivot to something bigger and better would be truly inspiring.
I want to be proven wrong in this article. Therefore, if you know of a positive role model at work who succeeds on their own terms, please let me know. Or perhaps you know an employer who truly values and respects their part-time workforce and actively encourages them to progress up the career ladder? I would love to feature them in future blog pieces to inspire others to combine a career with other responsibilities.
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