Parents and Leadership… Why it’s important to support parents in leadership positions
Women have been fighting for equality for many years and whilst we have made significant progress in the last century, we are still not entirely equal in the business world. Women are more likely to fail as entrepreneurs, never become a CEO of a business and fall away from a budding career after having children. Why is it that women still fall short of their male counterparts despite having proven themselves as valuable contributors in business? Women are still not paid equally or offered promotions ahead of their male colleagues. The key factor in women not receiving equal pay is due to a woman’s choice to leave the workforce at some stage to have a family.
It seems that once a woman leaves an organisation to have a family, her ability to move up the ranks to a management position becomes stalled. Unfortunately, women are still discriminated against (particularly in male dominated industries) when businesses are considering leadership roles due to the assumption, they may at some point burden the business with maternity leave and an inability to deliver on full time hours. Australia’s national gender pay gap has hovered between 13.9% and 19% for the past two decades according to the Government Workplace Gender Equity Agency. Until women receive greater support from the government, their businesses and from their partners during the first months of becoming a mother this gap may never close.
Most men would argue that they are all for women’s equality and want to see their female colleagues have the same opportunities as them. Both men and women in leadership roles have a part to play in empowering their young female colleagues to step up and take leadership positions without worrying how they will juggle family later in life. Far too many younger women don’t push their career forward knowing they plan to take time off to have a family. Men have a huge opportunity to take advantage of Paternity leave and spend time at home with their young child to enable their partners to return to work and transition away from full care responsibilities. It can be a difficult decision for a mother to leave their child but it is even harder when they know the only person to take care of them is a childcare worker who is responsible for 6 other children at the same time. If women felt they could rely on their partner, grandparents or have a subsidised nanny, more women would get back to work quicker. Businesses should create a culture where men feel supported to take time off and embrace fatherhood to the fullest and women can continue leadership roles with flexible working arrangements.
Being a parent should not limit our ability to fulfill on our individual goals. Becoming a parent teaches us how to be empathetic, selfless, nurturing, encouraging, patient and prioritise like no other. These are all important skills that a good leader should hold. A recent article posted on LinkedIn by Marius Mocanu writes “You can learn a lot about leadership by just paying enough attention to raising your kids and also the other way around.” He discusses five key principals that should be applied when leading employees or your children. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140616155945-49111118-five-similarities-between-great-leaders-and-great-parents/ These principals are;
Provide a framework based on values, not on rules (consistency and integrity is key)
Coach and train (create a goal, provide a structure for support and celebrate wins)
Create opportunities and remove obstacles (create accountability and empower them)
Let them drive (let them do things their way, give them power to choose)
Sacrificed themselves for their people (in other words put the needs of your children and your employees ahead of your own)
I believe that these are the key ingredients to raising well-adjusted children as well as empowering your employees to shine and ultimately deliver on your business goals. Any person whether man or woman who has chosen to spend full time hours raising children will understand the importance of applying these key principals. Once applied at home, a leader will then naturally have the capacity to bring this forward in a business environment. It becomes a way of being, rather than a management process that needs to be followed. The ability to have difficult conversations, deliver bad news, discipline inappropriate behaviour and communicate clearly and concisely will all be elevated after having been a full-time parent. Parenting is a humbling experience and you get to see that being on top does not mean that you stop learning and in fact those below will often become your greatest teachers.
If we encourage our fathers to work less, provide greater childcare subsidies, offer better working from home policies and allow female senior leaders to work part time we should be able to close the gap. Women have been working tirelessly to do it all, but it is time for society to give women a break, hold out a hand, offer support and allow them the opportunity to have it all. Having more women in leadership roles will create improved diverse thinking and ensure businesses are making socially responsible decisions that impact community, our environment and our people’s well-being. It will also give fathers the chance to have a greater balance between work and family without feeling the pressure of having to be the sole bread winner. Encouraging an inclusive supportive environment at work where parents don’t have to choose between family and their career will enable both men and women to become better leaders.
