Working Moms: The Solution for a New Work Progression | Domonique Townsend | TEDxLenoxVillage
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUzSVzRA7g Video ID: qpUzSVzRA7g ============================================================ [Music] i am a working mom the experiences and challenges i face in the career world are not unique in fact working moms have been largely discounted in their roles in the workplace for decades traditional measures of success such as net profit margin and sales growth have given many companies a strong position in the market but these traditional measures of success have also served as a cushy excuse for leaders who continually turn a blind eye to supporting the working mom and caregiver demographic in these years of unprecedented workplace changes what is done now for working moms will determine how workplaces will perform in the future otherwise companies will continue to lose talent by upholding these traditional measures of success and how they make decisions now how do i know i'm glad you asked allow me to share a story that took place at 805 am i worked as a salaried exempt employee who went above and beyond in helping yield over a million dollars in project savings that year i enjoyed collaborating and using my expertise to help employees i would come in to work at night to help night shift employees and i would also lead more early morning safety meetings once a month in addition to my job duties on a typical morning i took two trips to two different day cares for my three children all ages three and under i often felt frazzled and emotionally drained after dropping off my kids to get to work in time one morning i arrived to work at 8 05 a.m and i noticed a scheduled meeting with my manager at the time let's call him todd when i joined todd in his office he began our meeting with the words dominique we are concerned with your arriving late to work he proceeded to explain his concern with my five minutes tardiness sprinkled with statements like how we needed to set the example and how lateness wasn't professional i listened as politely as possible and shared challenges that i faced each morning before beginning my work of duties i expressed how i tried each day to arrive to work by the preferred time of 8 am todd's response came in the form of a question not understanding can you provide proof of why you need to or the time that you need to drop off your children at daycare that way that can help support why you arrived to work at 805 on some days huh i felt frustrated and unheard my manager did not take the opportunity to express empathy or offer a flexible solution todd and i spend 45 minutes discussing why i arrived to work five minutes later than his preference all to keep up a work culture where face time clearly mattered more than true performance i felt that my contributions and commitment to excellence in my work performed for the company were not taking in consideration at that moment i felt discounted i felt undervalued unfortunately the meeting i'm referencing is only a small part of the challenges i faced as a working mom and the reality that many working moms face is their value and productivity comes into question when faced with leaders who incorporate face time as a measure of success now this particular incident opened my eyes to the reality of this traditional perception of success and how it impacts the working mom if she is positioned in a company that values the tradition of how things have always been done more than her actual well-being the pandemic we experienced in 2020 and beyond has only torn off ben days that have been hiding a gaping workplace wound a lack of support available for working moms who want to succeed in business as well as prioritize their families inclusive statements towards moms and beautiful stock photos with general we support you statements look good on workplace posters and mass distribution emails carefully edited on behalf of the ceo it worked wonders until now this alone doesn't fill the gap of the intentional work and the actions needed for a true sustainable solution last year's lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates have painfully exposed the lack of viable support for working mothers but a new movement is happening among courageous leaders willing to restructure their internal systems provide spaces for meaningful dialogue to support the working mom demographic a movement i'm calling the new work progression according to the mckenzie women in the workplace study one in three mothers have considered leaving the workforce are downshifting their careers all together because of covert 19. the current late a female labor participation rate has not been this low in 33 years 33 years the majority of people negatively impacted by this attrition rate has been working moms and reports are significantly higher for the attrition rate of black and brown mothers now there are critics who say that working moms who experience challenges to exit the workforce or their corporations are not obligated to support their working moms and caregivers but i'm not here for the critic i'm here to provoke a conversation with leaders to understand and appreciate the value of the working mother who desires to flourish in her career while raising a family especially now working moms are no longer staying at companies who overlook their overall professional and personal well-being for the sake of great benefits moms are taking note and they are sharing their stories with others companies that ignore making the necessary changes in this new word progression are silently declaring that it is not a priority to take needed action to close the gender gap that is currently bursting at it seems and consequently are settling for a reduction in their long-term performance in the market now to bake back my statements up with data it is estimated to be a 341 billion loss in productivity in the u.s workplace due to lack of viable solutions for the working mom translation doing nothing will result in irreversible damage and negative impact for your long-term performance and as a company so what's your company's ready to embrace this new work progression do i can think of three things one develop consensus among leaders in your company get clear on where your working moms are in their needs i challenge executives at companies to develop consensus among other leaders to develop that consensus you will also see that it's important for them to personally acknowledge or see you personally the disparity of the working mom as an internal problem that needs to be focused on not having a consensus will make it difficult to start and sustain a positive meaningful impact it also disempowers working moms to utilize resources provided when having a manager that does not value this as a problem understanding where your leaders stand and how they take ownership and supporting improved structures that meet the challenges of working moms will provide a health check it drives the level of focus and systems needed to ensure that there is a safe space for working moms in the event they are positioned in a department with the leader who is not adaptable two lead the charge with ownership and accountability as efforts are being made some companies are falling short in retaining the critical talent of their working mom demographic this is due to the misalignment within the hierarchy of management roles who are not as enthusiastic about supporting change they might see this as a special privilege and not as what it is managers pass in the test of verbal agreement that the challenge of the working mother needs to be supported is one thing incorporating a shift in their approach in providing a space that offers and ensures their department utilizes those resources is another thing challenge each leader to read supporting data and impacts and discuss how a lack of internal solutions will impact the performance of their company have them include asking questions within their department to gather feedback and ensure that actual communication is happening notice what the leaders are saying and notice what they are not saying sure respective opinions and management style is encouraged for diversity of thought but misalignment in the actions needed to support company values can bring negative impacts to workplace performance and bring no change to the retention rate they must meet working moms and caregivers where they are with empathy and with understanding three back up your intentions with current efforts with an update to your company policy the proof is in the policy it serves as a mere reflection of how a work culture is shaped and reduces variation in how working moms are treated especially in the event they are faced with the manager who is slow to adapt in supporting company executive efforts here is a moment of truth in operations and executive meetings there are leaders who provide audibly appealing answers but are not actually incorporating new initiatives in their management approach and communication with their employees remember the story i talked i told you about me and todd at 805 a.m well other departments had managers that were more flexible but the department that i was in limited my ability of feeling comfortable protected or appreciated after that meeting because of the value of facetime arrival being a measure of success policies in place were not clearly defined in flexible work solutions because of this great area for the company i had to propose a way that will help me thrive with the demand of meeting family needs before arriving to work my proposal for a flexible window of time was communicated on my behalf with another manager who served as a mediator with todd and i todd approved a proposal but there was an awkwardness in the dynamic of how i was treated afterwards in that department i continued to work hard excel at every project i even felt glimpses of feeling human arriving to work after 805 and not having the side eye or the backlash but todd expressed his ultimate feelings during the end of year review he gazed over speaking to my overall work performance and wrote a summary statement mentioning the one time i parked in the visitor spot while treating while taking treats and for employees doing a safety meeting one of those for one of my morning early morning safety meetings it was clear that my advocating for success was not welcomed this led to my decision to transfer into another role at a company whose policy incorporated a more flexible option across the board for professionals in the office the society of human resource management report that on average it cost the company six to nine months of an employee salary to replace that role with the same level of skill set should there have been a focus on sustainable support structures i.e policy i would have likely stayed in that role while in my corporate journey this is the same for hundreds of thousands of working moms who felt forced to leave their career altogether due to the the lack of viable solutions turnover of the working mother demographic is estimated to lead to 341 billion dollars in lost productivity in the workplace now working moms are at a breaking point past work cookie cutter efforts will not work based on my research and experience permanent and sustainable solutions lie in structural ongoing support and solutions and policy implementation policy says i hear you i see you we value supporting you so much that we have put structural improvements and defined policies in place in closing my message to the working mother remove the veil that we have graciously carried over us for decades no longer hesitate to share your challenges and opportunities that can provide spaces for you to feel safe valued and included your honesty and your authenticity is the key to bring more awareness in the workplace it also serves as a key indicator if you are positioned in an environment that supports you beyond the professional lens there are companies who are adapting to this new reality and are willing to do the work to support working moms those are the companies who deserve you the challenge of the working mom is a u.s challenge a u.s workplace opportunity to take proactive change to evolve approaches that will positively impact all working moms for now and for generations to come working parents and caregivers need support as they navigate managing career needs while raising a family or taking care of others if companies agree and commit to the current complexities of the working mother they will essentially improve the experience for all employees as they embark on a new era the new work progression thank you