A little leeway to moms for a stronger society

As large number of millennials enter the workforce, organizations are facing challenges at all fronts. Millennial workforce is direct and demanding of what they want.

Organizations are questioned for few women in leadership positions as well as the right diversity mix in their workforce. Such issues are not only getting higher weight-age and but are also taking competitive toll on organizations, with millennials choosing diverse organizations and diverse organizations performing better than those that are not.

A Credit Suisse survey found that large-cap companies with at least one woman on their boards performed 26% better than their counterparts with with all-male boards. However, only 12% of CEOs recognize poor retention of female talent as a key business challenge and only 11% have a policy change in mind to address the issue.

Although, since 1860 the ratio of working moms has increased 800%, this generation considers gender diversity as a prime factor and seeks out employers with strong record on diversity/ equality- specially female millennials. It’s because this matter is of grave importance- 43% of women with children leave their jobs. 93% of them want to return, but face odds.

Mom’s serve a pivotal role as part of the family unit and in society as a whole. Strengthening the family structure has an impact on future generations, our economic outcomes and the future of our society. It’s this thought that has always pushed me to do more and more towards this mission. In my previous post dedicated to 15 years of my entrepreneurial journey, I briefly talked about Mom Relaunch and how passionately a team of moms have joined me in this mission to harness this gold mine of talent. We plan to build stronger families with financially independent moms, which in turn will lead to a stronger economy.

However, the point I want to address in this post is “Why moms need a little more leeway?”. I will not be saying anything new, but I do want to nudge all the executives to think hard about facilitating moms better at their organizations.

• If you look at the career path of women, things are perfectly ok till they get married and then follows pregnancy, kids. Their priorities change and the career starts to go on back burner. Once they stabilize and are ready to come back, they do not feel very welcomed at their workplaces. We are all aware of salary differences between male and females. 3 in 5 returning professional could end up in lower skilled job.
• Women still do most of the household work. Mens’ share has definitely increased as compared to olden times, but a major portion lies with the women only. With so much on their shoulders, pursuing career after children can be challenging. They will need support, recommendations and a trustworthy environment to be able to manage it.
• 2017 Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey said that 39% of women says their gender will make it hard to get a promotion. After becoming a mom, it dwindles even more. Their is subtle bias in organizations that men perform better in managerial roles than women. Women constantly fight these biases and when they become moms their confidence goes for a toss. Organizations should be more conducive to encourage and restore this confidence.
• Lastly, I read a PWC study (UK) on women returners and it said that fully utilizing the potential of female professionals could generate additional earnings of £1.1 billion and economic output of £1.7 billion. So, the economic gains for organizations and economy in general are undeniable.

I believe, it’s time for organizations to open up and many more initiatives like Mom Relaunch are needed. If you have any thoughts, please feel free.