When the PR industry is 70% female, mums checking out of their career is too commonplace and a reason why only 30% of women make it to the top. My issue with this 70:30 statistic is not just that mums shouldn’t feel the need to check out of any career, but when you think about how much brand PR is targeted towards women, should we really accept such an uneven split in senior management?
With large swathes of the nation having swapped the daily commute for WFH, and many of us doing the inevitable dual role of home working and home schooling, I’d like to think we have learned some valuable lessons that could lead to a more balanced workplace.
As the lines between work, home and family have been truly blurred, so now has the way we think and behave. Maximum flexibility and juggling skills are required, now more than ever. Having, like many, learned this the hard way during the first lockdown, I was better prepared for the second. I managed my work and home schooling diaries with a similar approach. Both had their fixed time slots during the day which I tried to stick to. I don’t see this as part-time working, I see it as flexi working and while it wasn’t always a success, with a timetable that covered both, at least I felt comfortable each had been given attention.
On the positive side, 2020 bought an enhanced sense of community and support on many fronts, and the kids video bombing work meetings became a standard and thankfully accepted way of life. For many, on-camera conversations between a colleague and your little ones brought light relief to both sides. I feel that this has been a humorous but helpful breaking down of previous boundaries between work and family.
In our house, saving an hour each way commuting meant extra time to eat together, the time for us all to come to the table, discuss our days and, dare I say it, collaborate. A NASA study found 98% of 4-5 years old scored at ‘creative genius’ level, five years later only 30% scored the same and five years after that just 12%. Understanding how my ‘little geniuses’ see things always gives me a fresh perspective which is especially helpful on days when I’m struggling with writer’s block.
BACK TO THE OFFICE
Having changed our way of life so drastically over the past year, anticipating how to balance office time once again with home time does make me excited, but also nervous. I think one of the success factors will be transparency all round, such as making my joint home/work timetable visible to my colleagues. Mums shouldn’t feel ashamed about the need to juggle and desire for flexibility. Any business stuck with the notion that flexible working is a favour to employees needs to move on fast. Those who allow employees to structure their days to best suit their own work and home needs, will get a much more collaborative, committed, and creative workforce.
KEEPING MUM
I don’t think enough has been done to keep mums on track with their chosen career paths. Many are forced to choose between career and family but if we can take any positives out of the past 12 months, it is proof that you can do both together, even in the most challenging circumstances. Yes, sometimes there are stresses, strains and things are not always perfect, but with an open approach why can’t mums stay in the profession they love at the level they deserve to be?
I work in a company that understands how parenthood is a tough balancing act, but the experience and knowledge I bring is a payoff for the flexibility and trust needed to let me do my job and take care of the home front. Yes, I am lucky, but in return I like to think it’s kid pro quo.
