Maternity and the workplace - is it time to relook at best practice?

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These career breaks (maternity leave) will need to be accommodated in order to make maximum use of the training and development invested in female employees and create a win-win situation for both employers and women returning to work after maternity leave.

In South Africa, women make up 51% of the population and 45% of the workforce, while nearly 80% of South African women between the ages of 20 and 50 are mothers.

As a mother and entrepreneur, Rogaly shares her insights on key areas that need to be addressed when it comes to the experience of women in the workplace.

Flexi time

“Build flexi time into company culture and allow a working mother to put in the work needed and achieve the required outcomes, while accommodating the responsibilities associated with caring for children,” says Rogaly.

There are two rewards for a company's responsiveness to a working mother's needs: higher retention of their best people and greatly improved performance and satisfaction.

Flexi time holds the promise of further benefits, according to a 2015 study by Citrix and Cebr, which found that remote working could add R17bn to the South African economy. This was calculated by an addition of 0.4% to gross domestic product and slashing commuting costs by R39.5bn. The report found that workers could save 320 million hours a year by not commuting – which has implications for increased productivity and developing strategies which maximise this opportunity.

Contribution of women at home and the workplace

“A woman’s role and involvement in society is multifaceted, with many areas overlapping due to responsibilities both at work and in the home. This can result in pressures and expectations for her to perform well in both environments,” says Rogaly.

According to a 2015 Harvard Study, employed women and men in two-parent households in developed countries reported that they spend an average of 17.7 and nine hours per week respectively caring for family members. At the same time, women and men report spending an average of 17.8 and 8.8 hours per week on housework respectively.

“We need to start exploring solutions that can accommodate the needs of both genders, while providing the necessary support to ensure that duties are more equally shared both at work and at home,” she says.

Family-friendly work environment

“On-site crèche facilities send a strong message of support to parents and children, while accommodating female talent. Modern companies need to provide working environments that consider the change in lifestyles and work situations. This not only gives the parent peace of mind, but also impacts on the quality of work, allowing the mother to focus on her work while knowing her child is safe and being cared for,” says Rogaly.

M-Net and Multichoice, Nedbank, Liberty Life and Discovery Health are South African companies leading the way in providing education and care for children up to Grade R.

Breastfeeding in workplace

In South Africa, breastfeeding is protected at work under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, allowing feeding mothers two breaks of 30 min per day to feed their baby or express milk until the child is six months. However, interventions are still needed to facilitate corporates in changing attitudes and supporting nursing mothers in their work environment.

“Women in the workplace is to a large extent still in its infancy. If we think back to the historical women’s march to the Union Buildings in 1956 (commemorated annually as Women’s Month in August), it is only 62 years ago. Although this was a powerful protest against the apartheid government’s pass laws, it also highlighted the struggle of women’s rights, calling for a non-racist and non-sexist South Africa.

“While the country’s four-month maternity leave policy is two months short of the South African government’s advocacy of exclusive breastfeeding for a baby’s first six months of life, corporates can support new mothers by facilitating breastfeeding opportunities when they return to the workplace,” says Rogaly.

Thinking into the future

Corporate culture does not allow for talented women to return to the workplace or continue to operate effectively in the workplace whilst managing their domestic responsibilities. This is directly influencing the retention and progression into senior positions of female talent.

While women comprise 51% of the total population, they remain relatively unrepresented in positions of authority and power. According to labour data release for Q2 of 2017, 44 in every 100 employed individuals are women. However, women only fill 44% of skilled posts, which includes managers, professionals and technicians, a figure which has remained unchanged since September 20029.

“Stats SA cites figures of women comprising 32% of Supreme Court of Appeal judges, 31% of advocates, 30% of ambassadors and 24% of heads of state-owned enterprises. Additionally, of the Top 40 JSE listed companies, Maria Ramos is the only female CEO.”

“These figures are particularly significant as we commemorate Women’s Month,” says Rogaly. The stats show that we still have a way to go in creating equal opportunities for men and women, which in turn will facilitate accommodating the natural cycles of life, of which maternity plays a central role.”

Employers open to the evolution of best practice for maternity leave, the management of family responsibilities, and striking a balance between employee productivity and fulfilment will position themselves as an employer of choice, thereby attracting high-calibre talent.

“Few things change in the world without a powerful incident serving as a key catalyst – be it a demonstration of 20,000 women walking to the Union Buildings or the implementation of a corporate culture that accommodates and tolerates motherhood as an acceptable part of the workplace.

"Together, we can foster this culture of acceptance and tolerance, while contributing to the nurture, care and development of the next generation of adults in our country,” concludes the BabyYumYum founder.

References

• http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10325
• Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 2, 2017: Table 3.5.
• Labour Force Survey, Historical Revision, September Series 2000 to 2007: Table 4.3
• Gender series volume I: Economic empowerment, 2001–2014
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/brazil-law-breastfeeding-mothers-fine-sao-paulo
• https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/28363/dissertation.pdf? 
• http://www.think-progress.com/africa/performance-and-productivity/remote-working-in-south-africa-your-flexible-friend/
• https://www.hbs.edu/news/articles/Pages/mcginn-working-mom.aspx