As a working mum of two girls as well as a member of the leadership team here at UP3 - a ‘small business’ in the UK tech sector - I have found the recent dialogue around maternity pay and the ‘burden’ on businesses, particularly small businesses, really frustrating. And if you know me, you know that if I find something frustrating, I am going to share it!
I understand this was kick-started by comments from Kemi Badenoch who has since said she was misrepresented. And you know what? Maybe she was. Honestly from my perspective it doesn’t actually matter if she was or wasn’t.
What matters to me is that once again what I saw was maternity leave and working mums wrapped up within a negative narrative, as a burden to business again….and I am left wondering how is this still happening?
Do I think the burden of maternity leave is too great on small businesses? Absolutely not.
In fact, I think the onus should be on businesses – big and small - to keep listening, learning and evolving everything we do to ease the burden on those going on and coming back from maternity leave and working parents more broadly.
As a mum myself, a leader in business and a manager of people I can categorically say that I see nothing but positives in a workforce that has working mums – and working parents – within it. The passion, the cultural impact, the skills that I see every day from parents in my team and across UP3 are all part of the brilliant diversity that makes us so successful.
And I believe it is up to me as a leader to support women as they go on maternity leave – and support that extends beyond putting a supportive arm around them. We need to back that up with policies and processes that genuinely ease their minds at what should be an amazing time in their life but let’s be honest can also be really difficult and worrying. And the same goes for when women return to work. And for all parents in the workplace.
My youngest daughter was born not too long after I joined UP3, and instead of questioning me on how much maternity leave I was taking, Ruth and Matt were full of support, allowing me to come back on my own schedule, managing my priorities like the grown up that I am. And rather than using it as an opportunity to halt my progression while I was out of the business, they kept me secure on my path, empowering me as I forged ahead on it and I have been promoted twice since returning. This attitude is the same for everyone, male or female, parent or not.
There is a very real business risk to undervaluing women as they go on maternity leave and returning mums – you simply won’t retain that talent! And let’s be honest, with an ongoing battle in the tech sector to attract and keep brilliant women in our industry, surely, it’s time to change the narrative, and make sure that every working mum feels valued at every stage of their journey.
I feel good about what we do at UP3 in this regard – we offer enhanced maternity and paternity pay, we actively support flexible working patterns, and we work to maintain an open dialogue as people adjust - but I think I feel even better about the fact that it is an ongoing, evolving approach that flexes as we see the needs of working parents change.
Thanks to Becci for writing this brilliant article, if you're interested in career opportunities at UP3, check out our careers page.
