Workplaces that “work” for mothers
I’ve been wanting a space to discuss books and topics that intrigue me, so I created one and the other week, my book club for human-centered leaders met for the first time. We discussed the concepts from Reshma Saujani’s Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think), which is based on the Marshall Plan for Moms (MPM).
The question of how to make workplaces “work” for mothers and families hasn’t always been on my radar, since parenthood wasn’t necessarily part of my future plans. However, I distinctly remember a discussion years ago (at another book club) that made me painfully aware of a previously-unrecognized bias I had toward the experience of pregnant women and mothers. I’ve since been working to challenge that bias through intentional action and increased education (much credit to Paid Leave for the United States!). Now that I am pursuing parenthood, the issue has become much more personal.
I’ve been a longtime fan of Saujani and was curious to see how her Marshall Plan for Moms laid out what’s needed to truly support mothers and recognize the value of their contributions to our society. The book outlines “four powerful forces that need to work in tandem to generate the seismic shifts women in the workforce need”:
Empower: women themselves benefit from establishing boundaries and baseline non-negotiables while letting go of perfectionism (the last of which Saujani’s book Brave, Not Perfect describes in detail)
Educate: actions for both individual employees and business leaders to take; this is the meat of the material, and is outlined beautifully in the MPM playbook
Revise: this is the individual work required to recognize cultural bias and judgment to change the attitude towards moms and their work
Advocate: how to organize in support of government policies that support moms, including affordable childcare, paid parental leave, and monthly payments to moms
Interestingly, the group that gathered for our book club all happened to be female leaders who are not mothers. From our experiences and discussion, we had 3 main takeaways:
With our ability to influence the space we work in, how might we create true flexibility. A key to this is establishing predictable hours for synchronous collaboration and relying on asynchronous communication whenever possible. Borrowing from the practices of the original remote-first companies, my team members found communicating through recorded videos (especially for walkthroughs of work) were much more effective than sharing written notes.
Normalize talk about family and personal situations. We discussed how this is particularly effective when we’ve seen male leaders make it well-known that they were unavailable at certain times because of a family commitment, or that they were taking a sick day to care for a child. Even those of us without children can help normalize by being honest (as you’re comfortable) about stepping away for doctor’s appointments or family obligations. The more we can embrace the complex, human aspect of our life — and not just present ourselves as working robots — the better!
Model boundaries. Similar to #2, it’s particularly effective when executives model this behavior. Bolstered by the bravery of others, I committed to wording my Out of Office reply to indicate that I would not be checking messages until my return, and I stuck to that commitment even though it was uncomfortable and not the company norm. As is often the case, once people realized I truly wasn’t going to weigh in while I was gone, they were resourceful and resolved issues, many on their own.
These are just a few of the many strategies outlined by Saujani, and certainly, others might resonate more with you based on your lived experience. Follow her on Instagram or LinkedIn for ideas on how to take action and relevant news.
Book Club is a space where curious people can come together to talk about ways to make the workplace more human, where all employees feel like they belong. Read more and sign up for future events here.