Being a woman can sometimes be like wearing an invisibility cloak to the office. Multiple maternity leaves and parental responsibilities used to mean that clocking out on time and never making the after-work drinks had a significant impact on career progression – some might say it still does.
Andy Prothero is professor of business and society at the Business School in University College Dublin; a mother-of-three, she recently wrote that gender had definitely impacted her career progression.
“I believe it played a significant role but others told me gender had nothing to do with my failed promotion attempts,” said Prothero. “When I was unsuccessful I was told that, as a woman in my 40s, I should be grateful I was an associate professor.”
She notes that recently she has witnessed important changes in promotions processes but adds there is a long way to go in “eliminating the norms and customs favouring men and withholding opportunities from women”.
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Gillian Harford is country executive at the 30% Club Ireland, which is working to achieve a minimum 30% gender balance at all senior decision-making tables. She says it is “inevitable” that most women who have children find themselves in the role of primary caregiver and this can impact how and when they work.
“Anecdotally, even in co-working families where both parents work, it is still the reality of life and I don’t know that many of us would wish for it to be different,” she admits. “As a mum myself, I always made the choices I ultimately wanted to make and hoped that an organisation would allow for them and be flexible.”
However, what has changed in recent times is that men are beginning to come forward, seeking the flexibility to be there for their families more.
“Workplaces may not have role models for this but they are working on their messaging,” Harford notes. “They are offering access to more family-friendly approaches for both men and women so they are trying to encourage men to come forward and say they have availed of parental leave or something similar.”
“Women are certainly not invisible in the workplace but there still remain challenges in terms of representation at senior levels of the organisation,” says Maebh Gallagher, associate director of operational excellence as well as inclusion and diversity lead at the Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Cruiserath Biologics campus in Dublin. “We can see that through our gender pay gap reporting which generally indicates a disparity,” she adds, while noting that, overall, the site has a very low representation of women aged under 40.
In an attempt to combat this, BMS participates on the Irish Management Institute (IMI) 30% Club intercompany mentorship programme, while the company is also exploring the potential to tap into new talent pipelines via a Returners Programme.
“This will also support women who may wish to return to the workforce after some time out to raise a family or, in fact, should they wish to change careers,” says Gallagher.
Tina Raleigh is head of offshore wind at Statkraft Ireland, a company that she says actively encourages all employees to put their families first. “This is a mantra from our MD and it applies equally to the men and women working for Statkraft Ireland,” she says.
Raleigh believes this is due to the company’s Scandinavian origins, where shared parental leave is the norm, as opposed to maternity leave.
“In Norway there is definitely a better sense of shared responsibilities when it comes to parenting duties,” she says. “his culture has naturally filtered down to the Irish office where it’s been fully embraced.”
She adds that male colleagues also lead by example, making full use of paternity leave and parental leave to put their families first.
“More importantly, the women I work with aren’t forgotten about when they go on maternity leave. For instance, one of my colleagues was promoted while on maternity leave and although she has returned to a challenging role, it’s with the implicit understanding that she’ll need to spend quality time with her baby too.”
According to Harford, it’s also about ensuring that maternity leave is seen as a part of one’s career and not separate from it. Something as simple as asking women what they need before they come back from maternity leave can be hugely helpful; in a previous role, Hartford pioneered paid “keep in touch” days.
“Women could come in, even just for a coffee, to catch up on changes that had happened or maybe to undergo mandatory training that had expired. They found it really helpful in easing the transition back to work.”
Ultimately, an agile working environment that suits everyone’s needs is key to ensuring nobody loses out or is overlooked just because they aren’t in the office until midnight, Hartford says.
“We know that there are roles that benefit from collaboration and ‘being seen’ so we need to figure out how to make agile working a reality for anyone who needs it, not just mothers or fathers.”