PostingBreaks and Ladders

Interesting piece in The Economist about patterns of female employment. According to Sylvia Hewlett of the Centre for Work-Life Policy in New York, more than a third (37%) of all professional women drop out of work at some point and even more will spend time working flexibly. Depressingly, getting back into work isn't easy: only 40% manage to find full-time jobs. And even those women who do make it back full-time suffer a huge loss of earnings - a 38% fall for those who've been out of the office for three years or more compared with those who stayed. The report says the big accounting firms do more than many employers to retain "off-ramped" female staff, offering formal career breaks, flexi-time, home working and seasonal schedules which can fit with school holidays. A couple of other employers offer project work to women who don't want to take on full-time positions. Let's hope more employers follow suit.

Posted 26 July 2007 11:57

Home working Money Work Work vs mothering

Comments

Martin said:

Cool blog! How do you find the time...?

Posted 26 July 2007 13:25

Flowerpot said:

hear, hear for all of us homeworkers! I've got several jobs but I'd never fit back into mainstream employment now - not that I'd want to, I hasten to add!

Posted 26 July 2007 14:30

Omega Mum said:

I did comment earlier but it seemed to find my words indigestible. Just to say were those women not able to find full time jobs or did they prefer to take part time work with loss of salary. I know which camp I'd fall into. The perks of full time work - an all adult environment, conversation beyond homework diaries and reading books... But then, how woudl anything else get done?

Posted 26 July 2007 14:55

The Good Woman said:

I'm with Flowerpot on this one - I'm not planning to go back to the career I once had - not least because my priorities have changed and I think I would feel I was going backwards as a person rather than reclaiming some sort of lost treasure. I'll probably never earn at that level again. And don't really care.

Posted 26 July 2007 15:41

orchidea said:

I'm with Flowerpot and The Good Woman; I feel supremely privileged to be in my current position: that of a lazy freelancer who earns just about enough to keep herself in posh knickers. My husband doesn't earn pots of money and we have had to prioritise and budget; we car-share (popular here) and foreign holidays twice a year are no longer an option, but I don't miss them. I'm terribly lacking in ambition and returning full time to the line of work I'm trained to do would, quite frankly, depress the hell out of me. It wasn't always thus; after the birth of my second child, I was back in the office after three weeks.



I know that my husband is sometimes envious and, in an ideal world, we'd share equally in the financial and nurturing duties. I know couples who have achieved this and more and more major employers are offering flexible working models to accommodate. By the time my son is grown, it will probably be the norm. I sincerely hope so.

Posted 26 July 2007 16:07

Mother at Large said:

Hi Martin, thanks, and, yes, good question.



Hi Flowerpot, I fear my days in mainstream employment are now behind me too. Ps - I haven't forgotten about the tagging, just a bit busy with various things!



Hi Omega Mum, oh dear, is the site playing up. Sorry. I'll ask Va-vay to have a look later.



Hi Good Woman, that's how I feel too. I read something somewhere that said many women feel so empowered and changed by becoming mums they find all sorts of different work opportunities open up to them after they have children. Well, I'd like to think that's true...



Hi Orchidea, our situation's a bit similar to what you describe. I used to be very gung-ho about my career, but the Bean will only be a child for such a short time, so I'm happy to work part-time and freelance for now. My husband and I seem to have fallen into fairly traditional roles without even thinking about it. Yes, let's hope things become more flexible for the next generation.

Posted 26 July 2007 17:12

DJ said:

Shame it is only accounting firms. I will have to hold out for other firms to follow suit, being dyscalculic and all...Excellent to hear some progress is being made in the right direction.

Posted 26 July 2007 18:44

Mother at Large said:

Hi DJ, this might mean wheeling out the baby abacus a little earlier than planned for The Bean, well, you know, so she can be a Bean Counter.... (groan)

Posted 26 July 2007 19:06

21st Century Mummy said:

Having children has opened up numerous opportunities for me and I have confidence that I won't step back into the traditional place for a long time, mainly because my husband and I have made the decision for me not to. Starting a family provides a fantastic opportunity to get off the corporate conveyorbelt and reassess your priorities. It's enabled me to set up a pocket money business whilst looking after the family and indulge myself in a number of creative outlets that are more satisfying than the income earned in an office.

Posted 27 July 2007 00:15

Mother at Large said:

21st Century Mummy, that's an uplifting story to read.

Posted 27 July 2007 12:58

DJ said:

Double groan!

Posted 28 July 2007 08:36

Mother at Large said:

Okay, lame, I know, but also irresistable...

Posted 28 July 2007 11:51

Absolutely Bananas said:

I saw this article too and I think it's important. Our corporate culture needs to change!

Posted 30 July 2007 00:06

Mother at Large said:

Hi Absolutely Bananas, I just hope they don't get away with their nonsense by taking these pre-emptive actions - in the same way the alcohol industry effectively promotes binge drinking, then covers its backs with tepid warnings on bottle labels to "enjoy alcohol responsibly", which is what's happened in the UK.

Posted 30 July 2007 01:32

Post a comment

Enter your comment here.

You can use some html tags such as <b> and <i>.

Word verification

Name

Email (will not be made public)

Website (optional)

Remember me