Prospects Fall for Working Mums in 2011
By Henry Neondo
Joanne Bushell, Vice-President for Middle-East and Africa comments, “It is not surprising to see that prejudiced attitudes come back into play with economic belt-tightening and some businesses are evidently still guilty of applying old-fashioned misgivings to the contemporary work environment. While the vast majority of firms agree that barring the door to working mums means shutting out valuable staff, there is some concern that family commitments may hinder working mothers from giving their job full attention and commitment.
Compared to a year ago when 44 per cent of companies planned to hire working mothers, only 36 per cent expect to do so as we move into 2011.
Over 10,000 business respondents from the Regus contacts database were interviewed during August and September 2010. The Regus contacts database of over 1 million business-people worldwide is highly representative of senior managers and owners in businesses across the globe. Respondents were asked about their intentions to hire working mothers and about their role in the workplace. The research was managed and administered by the independent organisation, MarketingUK.
These findings will be of particular concern to women’s groups as overall employment prospects brighten with the accelerating global economy in the New Year.
The new study from Regus also reveals a residual proportion of businesses who continue to harbour concerns about employing working mothers, along with some detail as to what those concerns are.
When compared to overall business employment expectations, where 45 per cent of companies globally intending to make new hires in 2011, the Regus study showed that intentions to employ working mums has fallen considerably bellow this level, causing considerable concern to families, women’s groups and governments alike.
The report also reveals residual concerns amongst a minority of employers, who still fear that working mothers may show less commitment and flexibility than other employees (37 per cent), leave shortly after training to have another child (33 per cent) or have out-dated skills (24 per cent).
On the positive side, a majority of businesses now value returning mothers, with 72 per cent declaring they believe companies that ignore part-time returning mothers are missing out on a significant and valuable part of the employment pool.
In addition, fully 56 per cent regard working mums as offering skills that are difficult to find in the current market; and 57 per cent declare that they value returning mothers because they offer experience and skills without demanding top salaries.
“As the workplace evolves it is recognized that businesses that are able to integrate these valuable assets stand a better chance of success. Fortunately, flexible work arrangements are becoming the norm and savvy businesses will find that they are able to provide a more family friendly and at the same time more productive work environment simply by allowing employees to work alternative hours or closer to home. Recognizing that the needs of working mums are not exceptional and extending them to all workers will provide productivity and overheads reduction benefits as well as making for more motivated staff,” said Bushell.
Currently, women in Kenya do the vast majority of agricultural work and produce/market the majority of food. Yet they earn only a fraction of the income generated and own a nominal percentage of assets.
Only 29 per cent of those earning a formal wage throughout the country are women, leaving a huge percentage of women to work in the informal sector without any federal support.
The effect is severe with nearly 40 per cent of households run solely by women, and, because of a lack of fair income, nearly all these homes suffer from poverty or extreme poverty.