September 12, 2023 Employers Resources / English 4 Ways Employers Can Help Working Moms Posted by Anisa Aznan Society celebrates motherhood with a lot of commercial campaigns, a lot of products, and a lot of public messages. However, there is a troubling underbelly of policies and practices that systematically hurt working moms’ health and job prospects. This contradiction is most clear when you look at strict return-to-work rules, lack of family and medical leave, and shrinking childcare funding. These things hurt women more than men because they are usually the caregivers. To keep closing this gap, we will need comprehensive policies and diversity measures that put the needs of caregivers at the center of their work. Here are 4 things employers can do to ease the burden of the working moms: 1. Keep the options for flexible, hybrid, and remote work. Even though companies are ready to get back to how things were before the pandemic, the infrastructure that working parents need for childcare is not in place to support leaders’ hopes for full offices. Return-to-work rules are a big and unnecessary problem for working moms who must also care for their children. Even in homes where women are the primary breadwinners, women are still responsible for caring for children. Studies done by the Pew Research Center show that, with few exceptions, women are seen as responsible for children and spend more time caring for them. So long as the culture doesn’t change overnight, it’s up to employers to create rules that don’t hurt the careers of employees who care for others. Supporting working moms is good for a company’s bottom line in the long run. Gallup’s study over the past 40 years shows that women managers do a better job than men regarding keeping employees engaged and reducing turnover. ALSO READ: Pregnancy Discrimination in the Malaysian Workplace 2. Give paid time off for family and health care. Paid leave is important for both the parent giving birth and the parent not giving birth. Studies have shown over and over again that men who take parental leave can close pay gaps that come from men and women taking parental leave at different rates. Paid leave makes employees happier and more likely to stay at their jobs. A Boston College Center for Work & Family study found that 86% of men said taking leave improved their relationship with their children. Overall, when both genders take caregiving leave, there is more equality between the genders and a culture that supports employees at all stages of their lives, including raising children and caring for elderly parents. Yet, companies are cutting paid leave even though there isn’t much evidence to support it. This means that in the future of work, women will be ignored and mostly stuck in lower-paying jobs. 3. Make sure that affordable child care is available. A recent Care.com study showed that child care, already prohibitively expensive before the pandemic, has only worsened for families as parents return to work and ongoing staff shortages plague providers. This hurts people with the lowest incomes, especially women who work in teaching, healthcare, retail, and other frontline jobs that don’t give them much freedom. Access to high-quality, low-cost childcare isn’t just nice for parents; it also helps businesses in the long run. This could force workers, mostly mothers, to cut their hours or quit their jobs to care for their children. Experts in the field have been warning about the coming problem for years. Companies must advocate for government-funded daycare and prioritize it as a parent benefit. 4. Practice pregnancy discrimination policies. Discrimination against pregnant workers at work is still very common. Pregnant workers are left to fend for themselves in a legal and cultural environment that doesn’t help them. They may have to hide their pregnancy during interviews or be unable to seek medical treatment or flexibility. We should aid pregnant women since it’s right and affects society. When pregnant workers get the help they need, like flexible work hours, paid maternity leave, and access to good healthcare, baby and maternal mortality rates decrease. Studies published in The Lancet show that this kind of foundation not only protects the health of the mother and child during the important gestational period but also helps children grow more healthily, as they are more likely to have higher cognitive functions. Attachment disorders can be prevented by helping pregnant workers and new parents. Attachment disorders can lead to mental health issues and trouble building lasting partnerships. By supporting pregnant workers, we ensure their children will be healthier, smarter, and more mentally stable. These are the kinds of people who will be working for us in the future. How we aid working parents, especially working moms, is crucial to building a healthy, balanced, and affluent society. Post your job opportunities on Jobstore.com today to attract talented professionals to your organization! Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives. Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.
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