We know returning to work after having a baby can be tough. Between the sleepless nights, never-ending diaper changes and trying to remember what day it is, who has time to think about getting back out there career-wise? Here at PACE, we want to help make the transition a little smoother. That’s why we became members of Career after Babies. As part of this amazing organisation, we’ll work to make PACE a truly family-friendly place to build your career. Our goal is simple – to give working parents the support they need to thrive at home and work.
Careers After Babies: Empowering Parents
Inspired by the stories of parents struggling to return to professional life, Careers After Babies was born out of compassion and the resolve to make a difference. It’s built on real-life experiences, where the difficulties of going back to work were seen and turned into a motivation for making things better.
In the last few decades, the career trajectory of many women has been significantly affected by childbirth. While the choice between continuing a career or focusing on motherhood is deeply personal, statistics reveal a stark trend: a substantial percentage of women are stepping down from full-time employment after having children. This phenomenon suggests that despite the progress made in gender workplace equality, motherhood presents a formidable challenge to women's continuous participation in the workforce.
This enhanced support for parents is pivotal; it not only propagates specialised job opportunities within the ever-evolving clean energy sector but also proffers a helping hand in skills development and reintegration into the working world. The benefits for parents are immense, potentially leading to more rewarding career paths and a more balanced work-life equation.
Careers After Babies have found some astounding statistics:
The implications of these statistics are multifaceted and profound. On an individual level, women leaving work results in a break in career progression, potential skills atrophy, and substantial loss of income. Professionally, this trend contributes to the gender pay gap, reduces the pool of female talent in leadership roles, and reinforces gender stereotypes within the workplace. From a psychological perspective, some women might experience a loss of identity or sense of purpose, leading to feelings of isolation or devaluation.
When employees feel supported in all areas of their lives, they tend to be more productive, loyal and engaged at work. And in today’s tight labor market, genuinely family-friendly companies have a real competitive advantage.
Our Co-Founder and Managing Director, Aidan Dodgson, had this to say: “I’m really excited that PACE People Ltd has become a member of Careers After Babies, to work on making sure our culture and policies create a positive and supportive workplace for parents.
I remember thinking earlier in my career “I don’t know how I can have kids whilst working here” so I can only imagine what those thoughts are like for a woman thinking about that stage of life.
I’m passionate about making PACE a place where no one thinking about having kids needs to have those worries and knows they will be fully supported through parental leave and returning to work, and their careers can continue to thrive.”
Here at PACE, we have always strived to be an employer of choice. Now with our commitment, we’ll be able to accelerate our progress toward becoming a world-class employer for working parents. We couldn’t be prouder to stand with them.
We invite you, our readers, to share your experiences and opinions on this topic. Have you or someone you know faced this predicament? What factors influenced the decision, and what support systems were or were not in place? Your insights can shed light on the practical realities behind the statistics and help foster understanding and change.
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