What Working Moms Need to Balance Their Lives
Are affordable child care and paid leave too much to ask for?
Last year we wrote a really fun piece, What Moms Really Want for Mother’s Day, where we asked the moms on the team to give insight into the kinds of gifts they would actually look forward to receiving. This piece got us thinking about what working moms want and need in order to have a healthy work-life balance. Every working mom has their own unique situation, but here’s what we think most working moms would appreciate:
Flexibility
With motherhood comes the skill of being flexible. Thought you were going to get to sleep in until 9? Think again. Pictured your Sunday garage cleaning session getting done in two hours? More like a full day with snack breaks and lego time built in.
Mothers learn to go with the flow, but the nature of many work environments goes against this. What happens if your son gets the flu and needs to be picked up from school at 11 am? What about new moms who need to nurse every few hours?
It’s unfortunate, but the work rules of many businesses are the opposite of helpful for a working mother. Working moms need access to jobs that allow them to be flexible: to work remotely or to design their own schedule that leaves room for nursing, school pick ups, and whatever else motherhood throws their way.
Support
Working moms need support. From their friends, family, colleagues, and especially, from their boss. They need a manager who understands their requirement for flexibility—and allows for it. The days of the strict 9-5 are slowly but surely coming to an end. As long as the work gets done, does it matter when it gets done?
Supportive colleagues can also work miracles for moms. Can’t make that meeting because of a sick kiddo? Ask a coworker to take notes for you! Have a tight deadline coming up but need to make after school pick up? Let your coworkers know that you’ll be sure to make up that time. A willingness from team members to be understanding can make all the difference.
Affordable Child Care
According to research by the Center for American Progress, at just over $1,300 per month, families with infants would need to pay nearly $16,000 per year on average to cover the true cost of child care. “Affordable” is definitely not the adjective we’d use to describe this cost. How can low income families or single mothers afford this?
Working moms need access to affordable child care, or at the very least, access to friends or family members who are willing to watch their kiddos from time-to-time if their main child care falls through.
The way things run in the US make it difficult for women to get easy, affordable access to child care. Affordable child care will continue to be a political issue until we get subsidized, accessible, and high quality care in this country. Make sure to get out and vote in the upcoming midterm elections!
Paid Leave
Paid leave should be offered to every employee on the planet, and especially to working moms who work double-duty raising children and money. Maternity leave policies are a touchy subject in the US—we could write an entire article just on that topic, but regular paid leave is equally important.
Working mothers need ample vacation and sick time so they can have time off from work to spend with their little ones, plus room to take days off if their kids get sick.
In 2021, more than one–third of private industry workers in the US received 10 to 14 days of paid vacation after one year of service. For comparison, Finland offers an average of 30 days of paid vacation for full-time employees that work 40 hours per week. Finland’s new maternity leave policy grants both parents up to 7 months of paid leave, for a total of almost 14 months of paid leave.
At Fearless Foundry, we provide 16 weeks of paid parental leave to employees following the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
We’re proud of our parental leave policy, but also recognize that there’s room for improvement. Which is why we regularly consult with our very own client, Kimberly Didrikson, the Founder and CEO of Learning Motherhood. Learning Motherhood helps employers like us provide the right tools to retain employees prior to and after the birth of a family, so we can have an inclusive and equitable workplace!
Has Our Country Made Progress?
Compared to some countries, it still seems like the US is stuck in the Middle Ages. In Finland, 70 percent of preschool children attend a full day care service supported by the government. Half-day preschool education is free. Full-day child care isn't completely free, but is heavily subsidized: Parents pay according to a scale based on income, with low-income families not required to pay any fees. In Sweden, new parents get 16 months of paid leave to use until their child is 8. Parents also have four months of paid leave to take care of sick children up to age 12.
The US government needs to do more to support working moms, and until that happens, the responsibility falls to private companies. Change can happen, even if in baby steps like offering more flexible hours.