The Mummy Track

Last century’s commentators’ spoke of women staring at the “glass ceiling” where their drive and avidity for the top jobs were restricted by the dominance of workplace discrimination and culture. Today, however, things are changing: hundreds of resilient women do make it into the boardroom, flourishing in the senior roles in both the private and public sector and shatter the glass ceiling into tiny, dismissible shards.

The battle is no longer against rigid prejudice; it appears women have to fight to get themselves off the “mummy track” where they are sidelined in the workplace. Should women have to respond to the ultimatum of family or career?

Each year, over 30,000 jobs are lost to pregnancy and maternity – resulting in a staggering £23b impact on the economy. In addition to this blow, women are continuing to work well below their potential and paying a heavy price for taking time out when having children. A large majority are greeted with open discrimination, and although we are aware of the illegalities and repercussions, tens of thousands cannot return to their existing roles for the simple reason of being a mother. Suddenly the ultimatum is a stark indication of the choices women have to make in life, or more importantly, how ruthless they have to be in order to have one.

Women also face the insidious discrimination characterised by Alan Sugar’s comments that employers should be allowed to question women about the dynamic of their family life. It is alarming to think there are organisations that choose not to appoint women of childbearing age. If Sir Alan makes his personnel decisions on whether women will leave their positions within a year to create a family, then what is he to do next? Strap hidden cameras to their outer garments to monitor if Mothercare are receiving frequent visits, or scrutinise all female employees in the canteen to observe shifts in diets; random trips to the toilet or worse still, quiz them on methods of protection?

A notable key factor is the change that occurs in mothers’ employment patterns after having a baby. Research by The Women and Work Commission (WWC) highlighted that while 63% of mothers were working full-time before the birth, this dropped to 34% after the birth. The gender pay gap also means that women working full-time are already paid an average 17% an hour less than men and this increases to 36% if they work part-time.

In October of this year, The European Commission proposed extending fully-paid maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks and stated that longer maternity leave would encourage women to return to work after having children. They also accept that over two-thirds of mothers returning to work after a significant amount of time away from their working routine are anxious about being less able to do their job. Never before has the title of mother and occupation merged with such hostility, but this doesn’t have to be the case. The more reputable and conscious employers have taken huge steps in retaining women after maternity and are flexible towards working patterns, without having to sustain loss of money or repute.

Witan Jardine is a specialist recruitment agency in London, covering finance, banking and marketing disciplines, who not only possess a diverse pool of candidates, but recognise the need in helping women who are returning from maternity to top level careers.

“Creating a family friendly culture that allows for flexible working patterns will go a long way to encourage women to return to work after maternity,” says Omar Akram, People & Development Director at Witan Jardine. “Women need to feel supported both during pregnancy and afterwards. Employers who fail to meet these criteria run the risk of losing some of their most talented female employees”.