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The challenges of returning to work after becoming a mother is at the heart of a social enterprise set-up by Hibiscus Coast mother-of-two, Anwen Robinson.
Anwen, who has an economic development background, says that when she started CareerMum in 2016, she had no idea of how big it would become. She puts its growth down to the fact that there is little information or research in NZ on identifying and addressing the challenges that working mothers face.
“Postnatal depression, childcare infrastructure, gender diversity, the economic impacts of motherhood and low fertility rates among educated women are seldom reported in mainstream media,” she says.
“These can be delicate topics, but they are also issues that have social, business and economic impacts.”
CareerMum recently conducted a survey aimed at better understanding the challenges of managing a career alongside family, and to learn from examples of best practice.
The Mothers in the Workplace – Insights and Perspectives report, released last month, collated the experiences of just over 200 women who were the primary caregivers of a dependent child.
Not surprisingly, time management was identified as one of the biggest challenges (82 per cent of respondents). This impacted on how mothers prioritised their own health and wellbeing needs, and on their ability to take time out.
Other common challenges included lack of career progression opportunities, the challenge of getting sufficient time off for school holidays, lack of flexible work options, cost and lack of childcare, and loss of confidence and self-esteem.
The report concluded that overall, the challenges mothers in the workforce faced were many and varied, and experiences could vary from workplace to workplace. Feeling trapped, missing opportunities and not progressing were common themes.
“The results of the survey will help us develop programmes to support women and to work with business. I believe there are businesses that are addressing some of these issues, but sometimes it is happening in isolation. We’d like to see these positive stories shared.”
The survey respondents identified employer support, in terms of flexibility, empathy and progression, as by far the largest support mechanism they needed. Better childcare options, a greater focus on gender equality, better support at home from partners, and more government and professional support services were also highlighted.
“Mothers are an under-utilised talent, but the value of achieving progress will be considerable. In 2016, a report issued by McKinsey put a value on gender diversity of $28 trillion, or 26 per cent of GDP by 2025. More recently, a study sponsored by Westpac, valued workplace gender diversity at $881 million to the NZ economy.”
Info: careermum.co.nz
Key issues of concern – Insights and Perspectives report:
• Under-utilised talent – Over a quarter of mothers are not in the workforce, and of those in the workforce nearly half of mothers with children under 14, and close to one third of mothers with children 14 or over, work part-time (under 30 hours a week)
• Children are spending longer in childcare – Between 2000 and 2013, enrolment hours increased year on year, and the availability of quality, qualified early childhood teachers is under significant pressure.
• Around 14 per cent of New Zealand mothers are believed to experience postnatal depression. Research has shown that heightened employer support can reduce the risk of women developing postnatal depression, particularly in respect of maternity leave entitlement.
• Educated women are having fewer children – Childlessness for this group is 18 per cent, compared with 10 per cent for women with no formal qualification.
• A “motherhood penalty” exists – This represents the difference in pay between mothers and fathers, which sits at 17 per cent. This compares to a five per cent difference between non-parents.
