The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced in May that unemployment is at a 49-year low. In other words: we’ve officially entered a jobseeker’s market, escalating the war for talent. Regardless of industry, companies need to be more serious than ever about recruiting and keeping their best workers—and that includes the best women on their teams, many of whom are also mothers.
Retaining women who want to be working mothers.
Most employers know the importance of having a strong maternity leave plan to help retain female employees who are parents. But there are other steps that companies can take to increase their chances of hanging onto their working moms—especially if they are aware of some common pressure points that commonly cause women to leave the workforce.
A new study from Indeed.com based on feedback from 1,000 working parents has revealed that there are actually two other child-rearing milestones when moms are even more likely to cut back at the office following their maternity leave: when children start school (around age five), and when their child’s extracurricular activities ramp up (around age eight).
As stated by Carmen Bryant, writing for the Indeed blog: “Because children’s lives change as they grow, so do the duties and needs of parents.” With this in mind, employers need to offer targeted benefits and flexibility to help families—benefits that take into account these later child development stages as well, rather than only offering support when a child is born (if they offer such parental benefits at all).
Martha Gimble, research director at the Indeed.com Hiring Lab, explains some of the overarching economic trends behind the new data: “We know that after women have children, they are less likely to be in higher-paid roles, and in managerial roles. In a world in which we still put a higher burden on women than men when it comes to child-rearing, women get funneled into lower-paid roles that allow for work-life balance, but also hurt women’s lifetime earnings.”
Gimble adds that women who take on part-time roles can get further penalized for reducing their hours. “In some occupations, the penalty for working part-time can be over 30 percent,” says Gimble. “In a tight labor market, employers who are willing to work with employees on flexible hours or telecommuting may find it easier to retain or attract mothers.”
Exploring (more) flexible work options.
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When considering the reality that the study reveals—that parents have needs for flexibility that go far beyond the newborn stage—Gimble suggests that employers can prioritize thinking about the benefits they can offer that help parents balance work and family, taking a holistic approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
“That can range from paid family leave to offering flexible work options,” Gimble states, adding that this competitive labor market also means that it may be even harder for working parents to find childcare. “Since childcare workers are typically lower-paid, they may be using this competitive job market to find a higher-paying position, leading to a potential shortage or rise in cost of childcare,” says Gimble.
She also advises employers to think about whether they’re “kicking candidates out of the pipeline” for unnecessary reasons. “For instance, if an applicant wants to work four days a week for 10 hours instead of five days a week for eight hours—is that actually a problem?” she asks. The moms surveyed by Indeed specified that the type of flexibility they’re looking for includes the ability to:
- Attend kids’ after-school activities and sports (81%)
- Work from home (66%)
- Draw from a set amount of hours to attend important activities and events (57%)
The reality is, the current economic climate means that you shouldn’t be surprised to find employees starting to get bolder about asking for what they want and need. “In this tight labor market, working mothers may have more bargaining power to be able to ask for better accommodations,” explains Gimble.
As a result, you can expect that top talent will be consulting review sites to see how your company stacks up against others in your industry in terms of handling work-life balance and compensation. If you don’t keep up in this area, your competitors who do offer working moms what they need will likely come out on top.
Is your company meeting expectations?
Be aware that in a candidate’s market, retaining working moms can be difficult, as it’s the perfect time for them to think about moving to an employer who is committed to their long-term career and family needs—and if that’s not you, someone else will be happy to accommodate top talent by offering flexibility to help them meet the evolving demands of parenting life stages.
As Gimble advises working mothers: “If your employer won’t give you what you want, start polishing up your resume and looking around.”
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