Removing friction for working women - IWD2023

Friction

If there was one focus area I could target from International Women’s Day 2023 it would be to go deeper in removing friction for women in the working world.  

There is much that can be attended to in this at the systemic, organisational and individual level.

Many aspects of working life that involve unnecessary pain have become invisible. They interrupt the ability for women to contribute, and affect the efficacy of their working lives.

Childcare

Childcare is one of the biggest of these issues, affecting many - although of course not all - women.  It is one of the deepest worries women raise with me.  

Even with dynamics changing around flexible working, the cost of childcare is out of control and its availability and trust in it is a source of great difficulty.  This leads to a myriad of financial and health issues, disproportionately affecting those from ‘lower’ socio-economic backgrounds and those without family around them.  Changes in society mean we now live increasingly siloed lives with less support within our local communities. 

Childcare can be the single most influential piece of infrastructure to a woman’s career.  If you can’t get that to work, you can’t work.  Or certainly not in the way you want to.  When we think of the purpose and importance of raising children and having a society in which everyone can contribute, this is an issue that ultimately affects all of us. There is way more we can do and facilitate around it.  

Entrepreneurialism

I remember working with an entrepreneurial company when my children were young.  The company had a young demographic and so there were very few employees with children. Founded in a country with a small population that values having children, things moved fast and a creché was set up in the office building.  Parents would drop their kids off downstairs and go upstairs to their desks, drop in at lunchtime for a walk, and pick them up at the end of the day.  No big deal - massive big deal.  

I had never seen this close up before and how normal it could be.  This type of infrastructure is not new, but its simplicity and the ease it allowed blew me away.  New parents were back at work quickly because they could easily be and everyone was richer for their contribution.  The kids were settled with mum or dad around.  It worked because it was employee, aka ‘customer’ led; company sponsored and subsidised. 

This is not to say we should mandate crechés or that our employers should carry our domestic challenges, though I’m in favour of that.  But it is to say that childcare infrastructure and support is a significant area that deserves more attention and pays back in employee returns and economic and societal contribution.  

As society shifts so too does the agency of employers and our understanding of well-being.  Childcare becomes a health issue as well as a productivity issue.

Communication  

And what about the dynamics around how we communicate about the practicalities of being a working parent?   Even with compliance sensitivities, why do we leave it so late and so awkward to start talking about these things?  That of itself creates friction and furtiveness.  

Can we build more openness from leaders around having and raising children and policies around that?  Talking about it regularly, way before and regardless of whether it is on the radar.  Championing - genuinely championing - shared parental leave and use of other policies, and evolving them around your people, not only when the law says you should.  Making sure it is clear that plans are easy to make around leave and schedules, so the how need never be a barrier.  Anchoring open communications in governance alongside culture. These are basic things that are not new but are not yet normal.  

Moving it on

Being able to contribute in work and to do so to the maximum extent of your capability is foundational to a thriving society, economic growth, and personal well-being.  We are very far off this collectively today.

There are many examples of friction for women in the working world, including beyond the realm of being a working parent.  From affordable housing, to toxicity, to inefficiency, to lack of profile and timely support.  Not all require national coordination and we can go after every single aspect, working with women to remove all we can that impedes their contribution.  The same goes for all in a position of minority and throughout the lifecycle of those in our care, not only at notable moments.

Significant among these issues for me is childcare.  The care of our children and those who raise them is a way bigger responsibility and opportunity that we currently acknowledge.  Employers can share in that duty of care in practical and perhaps unexpected ways.  This naturally leads to a deepening of relationships, loyalty and productivity within and beyond a workforce.  

It is these things that rub off on our shared prosperity.