Kiddipedia
I went to a power lunch last week and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of big tummies around the table. Several of the mums were talking about their experiences of working while pregnant and balancing coming back to work with little ones.
I regularly get asked for advice on how to ensure that pregnancy doesn’t herald the ramp-off from careers that women can inevitably face when starting (or growing) their family.
In my two decades of experience as an executive recruiter, I have heard horror stories of women being held back from big projects, not getting deserved raises or promotions, or being shifted to the side once they return from maternity leave. In Australia, it’s illegal for an employer to fire someone for being pregnant, but that doesn’t mean that your career won’t be affected.
There are a few tips and tricks that you can use to ensure that your pregnancy doesn’t have to signal a big career setback.
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Take charge
It’s up to you to take charge of what your career will look like during and after your pregnancy, don’t make assumptions that your boss knows what you want! Sometimes bosses can mistakenly make decisions that they believe will be in your “best interest” (e.g. sending another colleague on business trips, or assigning them to bigger assignments) based on the assumption that you won’t want to do that. It’s up to you to clearly map out what you want, and what you can do.
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Manage your announcement
Every organisation varies in the way that they receive maternity news. Watch what has happened to women before you and use that information to decide the best way to manage both your announcement and discussions about what your pregnancy will look like. I have spoken to many women who have suffered huge amounts of anxiety about telling their boss or team that they were pregnant, and even others who have had the difficult task of having the first maternity leave discussions in a firm ever.
Do what’s right for you. Some women will prefer to announce early so that they can have a long runway up to their leave and ensure that they are getting the right cover/training someone else on aspects of their role etc. This will probably be an advantage in project-based work. I have known women who didn’t “show” until late and announced well after they were halfway through their pregnancy – it’s totally up to you!
Some good advice is to have a two-pronged/ two meeting approach to the discussion with your manager. In the first meeting, announce that you are pregnant and set a time to talk through how this is going to work. This allows your manager time to process (and be excited for you) as well as not be overloaded with information. It also gives you time to set an agenda for the second meeting and have defined what you want to do.
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Ensure that your coverage is easy with lots of notes!
Now’s the time to start ensuring that you have crossed all your t’s and dotted all of your i’s so that the person/people covering your role know what is going on. A good excel spreadsheet of where you are with every project/ task is a godsend to these people!
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Stay connected
A good idea is to ensure that you have a communication plan to stay in touch with everyone (clients, colleagues etc) who is important to you while on your leave. Having a plan (and a spreadsheet or tracking app of some kind) will help you to do this while you are in the “brain foggy” time as a new mum. Not everyone will want to do this, but once a month when you get a break you can send a quick email or make a few calls – this will ensure that you stay top of mind.
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Be aware of how often you talk about your pregnancy.
Often when pregnant women can make the mistake of making all their small talk about their pregnancy. I had a previous colleague who did this, and it was quite frustrating! It may seem harmless to talk about how you are tired, or your pregnancy symptoms but it can impact how you are viewed by your colleagues. Also, you aren’t sure about what people’s personal journeys are in the office, and even in a great collegial environment – you can overshare. The other aspect is that your colleagues may incorrectly assume that you are so focused on being a mum that you aren’t as interested in your career anymore. Research shows a strong bias against working mothers – mothers experience a higher wage gap than women without children.
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Focus on your professional outcomes
While it’s totally fair (and smart) to ensure that you are looking after your health during your pregnancy, make requests with the focus on how you will benefit your company rather than your health. Rather than ask to work from home a few days a week because you are experiencing morning sickness, explain that you want to save time on your commute and be more productive.
Finally, remember that every woman is different, so it’s important to do what is right for you. At the Path to Promotion, we have lots of mothers who decide to do our success accelerator course while on their maternity leave to keep their brains active and have them ready to rock when they return to work. Many bosses will be happy to invest in your during this time frame to make sure that you don’t fall behind.
Good luck with your pregnancy and wishing you all the best!
Ineke McMahon
From CEO to Board appointments, General Managers and every placement in between, Ineke McMahon is one of the country’s most recognised and established Executive Recruiters and Career Strategists with a career spanning two decades. Ineke completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology / Bachelor of Business before launching her recruitment career. She is also the co-founder of the Path to Promotion – an online career development academy that is helping women to accelerate their career advancement.
