At MiM, we love a celebration. Whether it be a birthday, a work anniversary, pancake day, or other quirky and obscure observances, we are nearly always first in line with a social post, an internal celebration and content to support the cause! However, this blog marks the commemoration and celebration of something exceptionally profound.
In the early 1900s, women worldwide came together to form what would become known as International Women's Day. We used the word commemorate in the previous paragraph for a specific reason: many women today are still far from liberation. The primary goal of this day was and continues to be to promote gender equality and women's rights. That said, it also serves as an opportunity to celebrate women's progress and achievements over the years.
As a result, we wanted to take the time to champion some of the internal achievements of our very own MiM ladies and draw attention to some of the genuine issues faced by working mothers.
First and foremost, we would like to congratulate all the MiM mums for successfully balancing work and family life demands. You make it look easy! Working mothers face unique challenges and often have to juggle multiple roles simultaneously. In many cases, they are responsible for household and childcare responsibilities and jobs. This balancing act can be extremely testing, especially if you do not have access to affordable childcare or unexpected issues bulldoze their way into your day.
Furthermore, the tragic reality of the working world is that many mums do not have their needs met by employers, and they constantly contend with judgement. This resource gap is evident in a survey of almost 13,000 mothers carried out by the Trades Union Congress [TUC] and the campaign group Mother Pukka. These surveys found that one in two had had a request for flexible working turned down or only partly accepted by their current employer. Further, 86% of women flexibly working said they had faced discrimination and disadvantage at work.
Sadly, even some of our team members can only too well recall the judgement they have faced in male-dominated workplaces. Cindy recounts, ‘In a previous role, I got promoted to work in the top-performing office as my figures were good and my attitude and commitment were second to none! My partner and I had been trying for a baby and worked my socks off to get the position they'd offered me, even working through the tragic event of a miscarriage at seven weeks. I didn't tell a soul, and I'm glad I didn't because three months later, when I sat down and nervously explained to my director that I was pregnant, his response was, "Oh…I guess I should congratulate you then." I was understandably distraught and made it my mission to prove to the company that it didn't matter that I was pregnant; I could 'still keep up with the men'. This personal resolution led me to put an extreme amount of undue pressure on myself only to wind up in hospital at 32 weeks with reduced movement due to the sheer stress I was experiencing. Once in the hospital, I relaxed, and it was at this point the baby went wild and threw a party! My partner looked at me and said, "You can't keep going at this pace!" I continued to work for another five weeks.
Of course, due to the pressure of the male-dominated workforce, I didn't ease off at all, working 8 - 6 (often later) and every other Saturday for significantly lower pay than my male counterparts (even with my promotion). After having my daughter and having a preemptive 'Return to Work' meeting, I suggested moving to a laptop with the ability to work from home if the baby was ill or I had childcare restraints, basically a very low-grade version of flexible working. They said they'd think about it but then wouldn't engage me in the conversation until I returned to work, at which point they said, 'Oh no, we just can't do it!', refusing to give a reason as to why. This lack of cooperation, combined with my child's three sick days within my first three months post returning to work for which I received comments such as, 'This isn't good enough and will have to stop!'. I also witnessed open discrimination of a fellow female co-worker who had just gone on maternity leave. I was shocked to hear my employer comment, 'I don't want to have to pay her car allowance whilst she's sat around doing f**k all!'. This culmination of events inevitably led me to walk. Luckily, my second employer wholeheartedly congratulated me when I fell pregnant with my second child.
Further, they supported me with a hybrid work model and temp staff cover for hospital appointments and illness without question despite being a far more customer-facing, operational role! Experience is what defines us in life. The stark comparison of the handling of maternity leave between these two organisations determined what I would seek in future roles. When coming to work with MiM, Rowan and I discussed that I would need the ability to work flexibly at times to cover an array of unforeseen circumstances. He made a point of finding an office that had the most flexible on-site childcare setting and also understood, the more he let go, the more he'd get back. Mothers do not need micromanaging. We spend all day, every day, running something akin to a military operation in order to get everyone to where they need to be, when they need to be there, with all the relevant sustenance and equipment. We know how to work to a deadline against all odds. We also nurture every moment of every day, making us more empathetic and open to new approaches, making us ideal leaders. Rowan recognised this in both myself and Claire, enabling us to support him in providing a supportive and inclusive workplace for all!’
In addition to these issues, women often earn less than men for doing the same job, making it harder for them to provide financially. This struggle is especially evident for mothers who are the primary breadwinners in their families. Lastly, many working mothers still experience discrimination and harassment at work. This mistreatment can take many forms, such as being passed up for a promotion or getting paid less than male colleagues for the same position. "Research also reveals the majority of employers (70%) thought a woman should declare at recruitment stage if they were pregnant, and a quarter thought that it was reasonable to question women of childbearing age at interview about their plans to have children. In addition to this, three in four (77%) mothers that were unsuccessful in their job interviews undertaken while pregnant" [theguardian.com].
With 3/4 members of the MiM leadership team being women and mothers, the MiM team are fortunate to be surrounded by directors who "get it". They genuinely understand the issues women are constantly confronted by through personal experience and conversation and endeavour to create a workplace supportive of working mothers. Creating a comfortable environment for women to express themselves is no small feat. "Despite 77% of working mothers reporting potentially discriminatory or negative experiences, only around a quarter (28%) raised the issue with their employer, only 3% went through their employer's internal grievance procedure, and less than 1% pursued a claim to the employment tribunal. The survey of more than 3,000 mothers and 3,000 employers shows a range of reasons for this, including the financial cost of pursuing a claim, fear of negative repercussions at work, lack of information about their rights, and stress and tiredness" [Diversityuk]. Despite this, the leadership team at MiM have helped to navigate this open channel of communication seamlessly. In particular, I wanted to shout out our very own Operations and Client Directors- Cindy and Claire.
This year, MiM has seen an increase in new employees, and how Claire and Cindy have accommodated us has been phenomenal. By working on flexibility, the entire MiM leadership have made sure that all women (both mums and non-mums), regardless of their role, have access to the resources that they need. "Although I am not yet a mother, the way in which Claire and Cindy have both facilitated and accommodate my career needs has never ceased to impress and inspire. Having worked in male dominated roles, both of them understand how to empower women in the workplace, and often anticipate where I need support before I even have to mention it. They are also incredibly forthcoming with their words of affirmation and never pass up the opportunity to teach, encourage and praise." [Lauren Dowden, Social and Content exec at MiM]
Happy International Women's Day, everyone! Wishing you all well as we work together to ensure all women have an equal chance to succeed.