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Empowering mothers in the workplace requires a thoughtful and multifaceted approach. Today, women in most families still bear most of the family and domestic responsibilities while working full-time. It's unfair – and to say it's a lot to juggle and have on your plate is an understatement. The reality is that mothers everything is expected both at home and at work, and this can be physically, mentally and emotionally very difficult and scary.
As a mother and entrepreneur myself, finding ways to exalt mothers at my company and creating a culture that truly fosters work-life balance has been paramount since day one. From the beginning ZenToes in 2015, I've grown my family, hired an incredible team of women who have done the same, and managed, with the help of my team, to grow Zentoes into a multi-million dollar business.
While seeing the success of your business demonstrated through metrics and revenue growth is amazing, what has been most rewarding is witnessing how dedicated our incredible team of employees is to growing with us. Below, I've outlined seven tips for other entrepreneurs looking to empower their employees.
1. Have flexible hours and work arrangements
Telecommuting options are critical to help with insurance flexibility on schedules for moms to balance family responsibilities, including everything from pick-up and drop-off to sick days at home with the kids. They will also develop happier attitudes towards work in general.
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2. Put women in leadership positions
Having women in leadership positions is essential to create mentoring opportunities and fostering the next wave of leaders. Creating opportunities for other women in the workplace helps uplift all women.
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3. Supports professional development
We strongly believe in not suspecting gaps in some women's resumes from staying home with young children. Parenting can be a huge learning curve for people management. It is also important to provide professional development opportunities specifically to help mothers feel secure when they are out of the workforce.
4. Encourage work-life balance
Prioritize open and honest conversations with employees about 'mommy guilt' and the need to 'do it all'. Employees will feel happier and perform better when they feel calm and balanced in their personal and professional lives. For us, it is essential that create space for women who have families or plan to have families so they can take the time they need to feel successful both at work and in family life.
5. Surplus insurance to cover vacations
This goes for both sides of the parenting relationship! At my company, our small, scrappy team has had to identify and build redundancies to ensure work still moves forward and we're not without coverage while a parent is on leave. Documentation SOPs and collaborative decision-making processes have been important in ensuring our success.
6. Allowing social outings at work
It is helpful to have occasional, weekly team building meetings that cover social topics that allow group sharing among our employees. It's a moment for everyone to not just focus on work or just on their families and be able to share about themselves as individuals.
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7. Don't forget about the partners on the other side of these working mothers
Offer the same benefits to both partners in a family unit – flexible hours, redundancy, etc – to normalize and allow partners to be more equal at home. If they have the same flexibility, there should be a correlation in taking on responsibilities – lending to support a more equitable future. In my family, my husband taking on a fair share of the household load has been instrumental in making ZenToes a success.
Employers should approach the creation of work policies, arrangements, benefits and team-building initiatives holistically, paying particular attention to the diverse needs of all employees, especially mothers. After all, moms are an incredibly valuable part of any business team, bringing vision and a unique thoughtful perspective to their work every day. Allowing for balance, honesty and communication is critical. Your company and all your employees will be better off for it.