Praise for Working Women!
Get the kids up, everyone dressed, multiple mouths fed and bags packed, manic childcare drop-off, arrive at office feeling slightly crazed (but relieved: you’ve made it!) quick prep for 9.30 meeting and we’re ready to go…..
The day-to-day routine of the working mum is difficult enough without the extra criticism that we have had this week from Nigel Farage.
Farage said “women with children are worth less to firms in the financial sector, but if they sacrifice family life, they can do as well as their male colleagues…” What about the dads was my first thought? This is telling the world that combining working and parenting is still all down to the mums! But I meet so many dads (who work in the financial sector) who are either actively making changes to their working lives to spend more time with their children, or who at least really want to spend time parenting. What about when Shared Parental Leave comes in next year? We need to start making some cultural preparations for this – dads please apply!
Farage spoke of women taking 2-3 years off which can lead to loss of a client base. Of course this would lead to a loss of client base – this would be the case for anyone taking this length of time off – it doesn’t have to be just about the woman taking maternity leave. Most women I work with take less than a year off, whilst the team and manager or maternity leave temp covers the clients, then many of the relationships are picked up when the women returns. Most clients realise that having children is a normal part of life (and equally many have their own children so understand the challenges working parents face). And if relationships are strong, and women keep in touch whilst they are away (most do), many relationships become stronger over time. I work with numerous women every week who prove it is possible to do well in your career as well as raise a family (which is what I expect the majority of women aspire to); in particular if you have an understanding and family-friendly employer, where it is possible to work flexible hours where needed.
Another thing that sprang to mind is the notion of what ‘doing wel’ means. To the vast majority of parents I work with, ‘doing well’ means having a challenging and satisfying career, whilst having a happy work/life balance. To most, this doesn’t mean working all weekend, doing all-nighters and not sleeping through stress and anxiety. To many, it also doesn’t mean to strive to be on the board and to earn huge bonuses. Let’s do away with the notion that ‘to do well’ has to mean ‘sacrificing family life’ – it’s about being a happy and productive professional.
The final comment which made me smile was “I think that young, able women… do as well if not better than men..” – YOUNG and able??!! So that writes off all of us over 40’s too then…. (but no, there is no discrimination against women at all…). Doing ‘well’ is contributing positively to society – whether that be raising the next generation or working to boost the UK economy – does it matter which, and why can’t we do both?