Why is there no room for new mothers in the workplace?

Question

It was reported in the news at the weekend that many women are still being made redundant once they get pregnant/have children. How can we find ways to help women with children, rather than disgarding them?

Answer 1

WAIT A MINUTE! It isn't MY (or anyone else's except her husband's) job to "help" a woman with children. Women scream about reporductive choice, but then expect everyone else to pick up the slack at work when they CHOOSE to procreate! The truth is: If you have babies, you should be at home with them. If you aren't, then something is WRONG with the picture (divorce, failure to marry FIRST, working to pay for the new car, etc.). My hubby works with women who think that they should have time out in the middle of the day for all kinds of kid-related crap that has NO PLACE in a professional office (breast-pumping, fertility shots, long (& loud) phone arguments with the unmarried sperm contributor,...). The point is: If a parent chooses to work, s/he is not alleviated from dealing with his/her own responsibilities. NO ONE can be a parent FIRST w/o putting his/her career SECOND. When my son needed emergency plastic surgery in the middle of the week, DH did not dump his workload off on someone else to come to the hospital. I (being the SAHM at the time) went to the hospital & DH finished his work THEN came to meet us. Women are not being "made redundant", they are being rendered USELESS by trying to "have it all" & "be it all" & doing NONE OF IT WELL. An employee who leaves early everyday because they bought a new car rather than pay for childcare after school is USELESS as an employee. Likewise, a mommy who dumps her babies in daycare or school all day is NO USE as a mommy. Women (like men) need to DECIDE what their priorities are & LIVE WITH the consequences. No one can be TWO things FIRST. They need to stop trying to take money out of OUR pockets to subsidize THEIR CHOICES!

Btw, lest you believe differently, I am NOT against women having careers. I have one now that my child is in college. I also know many older women (up to age 80) who began careers when their children were in HS & went on to have brilliantly productive careers AFTER they rasied their babies. I also know a few men who are just completely FABULOUS stay-at-home daddies. Their wives are as devoted to their careers as my hubby is to his. The point is: A PARENT is making those children his/her FIRST priority. Every child deserves this, but fewer & fewer actually get it. When we (hopefully) have more bunchkins, I, too, will be back at home with them. Being the primary parent is NOT a part-time job.

Answer 2

I think that employees fear when a woman has already started a family, they are more likely to want more children, as they get older. Which is probably true in most cases.

Therefore that puts the employer in a situation where they have to find a replacement who can do the same job. And in some cases it means retraining someone.

Also there is the point of mothers taking time off work cause the baby is sick, or needs to go for a check up and things like that.

Answer 3

Good question, on the one hand the government are trying to force mothers back into work but on the other hand you try to get back to work and get beaten down due to the fact you are a mother. It is very frustrating and a terrifying prospect.
I was made redundant about 2 months before I was due to return to work but I knew it was coming as the company was sold and moved to manchester and I wasn't moving to manchester. Luckily I managed to find a job 10 mins from home and my daughters nursery and have an understanding boss who is a family person and I only work part time and time off for baby clincs etc is granted without an issue. I know I'm very lucky to have this.
But when I was made redundant and put in the position of not knowing what I would face work wise it was very daunting and I wasn't very hopeful as I know how people to look down on people with children especially babies as they do need a lot of care especially when ill.
As a woman in this world you can't really win and as a new mother your even more trodden on.
Basically I think they should make part time work more available, make companies more understanding towards mothers when they have to take time off to look after their ill children, its all well and good saying well your entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave in 5 years but if the company you work for isn't very tollerant then you are stuck and can face losing your job for the wrong reason.

Answer 4

When you say the word MANY ... you mean there are still numerous women that will have issues with working after they have a child. This will probably always be true. Just as there are many men that have a will always problem holding a job ....

The many women I know that are stable in their job, even after having a child, were established before they had the baby. They of course, need a lot of support, from their employer, from their spouse ( if there is one ) or the baby's father . Very lucky ones even get support from friends, neighbors, and other people.

Women still do most of the care involved for toddlers and children so .... yes, they need help. As far as you can ..... you have to network as much assistance as you can. From baby's father .... from family , friends etc. You may be paying for daycare or have a family member take care of the child while you work ... if you can, see if you can have someone help you with other needs .

If you are a good employee and you have a good employer, , your employer should understand the difficulties in your situation and expect reasonable demands on your time and attention. ANd in some cases, you are legally guaranteed these rights, by the government and by many employers company policies. See what's available for you if you can. Discuss any complications with you employer or human resources.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

Hi Jibstick.

This will always be an emotive subject because it will affect most people either directly or indirectly during their working lives.

We must be mindful that businesses exist to make money. This is why they were set up.

As a former employer myself, I want my employees in the workplace doing what I pay them to do for the hours I contracted them to do. Their family and private life is not my concern until it interferes with the efficient running of the business. I have a duty of care to all my employees not just mothers of young children.

I am of the view that if you made the choice to have a baby then you must take the responsibility for it. Why should an employer be expected to run a business around one or two people. It is often expensive and very disruptive to attempt to do so. It is a simple choice, baby or work?

Answer 6

I was made redundant when I was pregnant too but it was unrelated, the entire plant was closing down.

Anyway, I now happily staying at home raising my daughter, we are lucky that we can afford to do so on my husband's wage and the only benefits i claim are those for my daughter, nothing for myself. If i was to go back to work, the money i earnt would not cover the childcare i would need therefore I find it a tad pointless that i should look especially as we're now trying for another baby. Once they are both in full time education I'll work again.

Women should be given the option to work or be stay at home mum's i believe and firms should be more understanding but it can be very costly. I have no idea on a solution! I'll just keep going as i am, it works for us!

Answer 7

Mothers of young children generally take time off work for their domestic duties and therefore make unreliable employees.
The working mother concept in society has benefited the Treasury but has failed society as a whole. Extra salaries have not really benefited couples; they have merely inflated property prices. This leaves two people working to provide what historically was provided by one person. Tax and NI are greedily collected by the Chancellor who must smile when he sees so much paid out for child care that generates more revenue for the Treasury.
Society pays a high price for children raised in baby farms and having limited access to their parents due to the financial pressures caused by high property prices and extortionate taxes.
A return to the family unit with one working parent would be very costly in the short term but would vastly increase the number of children able to mature into functional adults who would both contribute to and benefit from a vastly improve society.

Answer 8

I think there's a huge correlation between the number of young mums in employment and relationship break up with the father of the child. Raising kids (especially small ones) is a full-time job and one of the parents should do it full-time. Some men are better at it then women, so the decision on who should go to work should be made between husband-wife/boyfriend-girlfriend. Because both parents work, none of them have time to do other things and they expect each other to do it. I'm sure men and women would both enjoy coming home after work to the smell of freshly cooked food, however, it is impossible if both are working. And because of these family/household matters the career is neglected, people start to arrive late and go home early, or suddenly dash off etc. leaving other colleagues to pick up the pieces. If one stays at home then he/she can manage the house/kids and by the time the other partner arrives, everything is sorted out and the only thing they've got to look forward to is playing with the kids and spending quality time together. I'm in favour of one parent staying at home, however, I don't like the idea that a woman is discriminated against because she's got kids. Obviously, with changes in today's society many women go to work and I'm sure that a good percentage of them go to work because they are under pressure to be a supermum. Like you can have it all, a good family, a good career, designer clothes, beautifully fitted kitchen, holidays etc. The harsh reality is that you can't. Most of us can't. If you decide to have a baby you should save up for it so that you can reach into your savings when needed. You can resume your career later, when the kids are older whether you are the mum or the dad.

Answer 9

This should not still be happening - there are laws against it, even for part time workers or those on short term contracts.

New mothers should stick up for their rights more and the law should be properly enforced.

There is no proof that new mothers in any way become incapable of doing their jobs once they have recovered from the childbirth and things have settled down - thats why there is statutory materity leave.

As for workers with children, larger firms should have subsidised creches for workers.

I dont believe new mothers or anyone should be given an unfair advantage over other workers, but i do believe they should be enabled so that they are not at a disadvantage.

Answer 10

Wouldn't it be nice if new mothers stayed at home for a few years and looked after their own children? The fashion for going straight back to work isn't really the best start for your baby and you miss out on so much pleasure. Better to go without some luxuries and expensive holidays and enjoy that precious time which you will never get again. Mothers were no better off financially in the past but kids got off to a better start in life and you didn't have so many teenage problems as nowadays.

Answer 11

You have children or a career! I know this is not a popular view but children need the love of their parents, not the caring but purchased oversight of a creche nurse!
How can anyone say they love their children when they abandon them so they can follow their own selfish pursuits, work included.
The idea that you can simply take time off to have a baby then return to work within a few weeks cannot be justified, not as a parent, nor as an employee and certainly not as a colleague.