Juggling Act
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| Jackie Kelly; Photograph by Matthew Vasilescu, OzbecMedia for careerone.com.au |
The cost and availability of childcare remains a major stumbling block to career success, according to some high profile women juggling motherhood and work.
Attending the careerone.com.au forum on women and work, panel member Federal MP Jackie Kelly said providing affordable childcare should not be the sole responsibility of government but shared with employers.
Ms Kelly, who gave up the prestigious post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister to spend more time with her two young children - a girl and a boy - would like to see childcare centres become "workplace based" including a childcare centre at Parliament House in Canberra. Read full details of Ms Kelly's proposal.
Ms Kelly said career-minded mums also needed to "contract out the wifely duties". "Contract a cleaner, contract a nanny. For $50 a week on a cleaner,
75 per cent of all disputes with my husband disappeared," she said.
She added, tongue in cheek: "My one piece of advice to all of you is 'marry down'. If someone has to step back and take on family duties, it's always going to be the one who earns the least. So if you really want to keep working after having kids, marry someone who earns less than you."
Other careerone.com.au panel members included fashion writer and television commentator Melissa Hoyer and Janna Frawley, editor of Donna Hay magazine - also working mothers - and employment lawyer Peta Tumpey and TEN evening news co-anchor Deborah Knight.
Career tips from the panel included:
Being prepared to do the hard work to get the ultimate role you want. According to Deborah Knight, too many women interested in presenting television news were not prepared to undertake the journalism training required to be credible in the job.
Peta Tumpey said using a discrimination legal action to challenge employers was possible but was no easy task and could exact a heavy emotional toll on women as their word and integrity would be challenged. She advised young women to instead find employers that understood the importance of fostering female talent. Ms Tumpey became a lawyer at 27 and made partner at just 32. She acknowledged that male and female management at Hunt & Hunt had been supportive of her rise and that of other talented women.
Jackie Kelly said succeeding in politics meant being prepared to hold your own with male colleagues and speak up.
The forum follows the release of a survey by careerone.com.au that reveals women still believe pregnancy hinders career progression and that men have greater access to promotions and higher salaries.
Both Ms Hoyer and Ms Frawley praised the involvement of their children's fathers in helping them cope with the stresses of work and motherhood. Ms Frawley added that support from co-workers and managers was also vital to helping women juggle dual home and work.
Ms Hoyer told the forum that she was nervous that she would be left behind in career terms during her maternity leave with her son now four.
Kate Southam, careerone.com.au, said employers need imaginative return to work policies to help women avoid similar fears.
"There are employers who send out newsletters, arrange lunches with colleagues and provide briefings on important work issues in the couple of months before a female employee returns to work to get them up to speed," Ms Southam said.
However, Ms Frawley said women need to "forget about work" while on maternity leave. "Embrace it. Employers have to give you maternity leave so just enjoy that time with your baby."
Deborah Knight television news reporting could be incompatible with motherhood. However, news readers could stay on air and there were plenty of examples including Natasha Belling and Tracey Spicer at TEN. [Ed note: Natalie Barr on Seven's Sunrise; Georgie Gardner and Jessica Rowe on Nine and Juanita Phillips on the ABC are other examples].
By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au