Hiring, training, and retaining the best talent has historically been a labour-intensive task but, with more urgency to recruit and less time to devote to the process, employers are looking to automate the hiring process. While this saves time, it comes at a cost.

There is a real risk that companies could be missing out on potential talent pools due to automated processes, driven by a lack of insight and even potentially institutional bias. CV scanners, which weed out applications that do not meet role requirements, are designed with efficiency in mind, meaning they often exclude candidates based on certain factors such as gaps in employment.

Hidden figures

One of the groups falling into this category are mothers who have left employment to have children but are then seeking to return. This is a highly talented but often misunderstood group of skilled and accomplished talent. In fact, a survey of 520 working mothers commissioned by SkillsNow found that 42% had been a victim of discrimination by their employers, simply for being a working mother, while more than 25 percent said they left employment after having a baby due to a lack of support from their employer.

Underutilised assets

In the UK, 15.52 million women aged 16+ were in employment in October-December 2021, according to the ONS UK Labour Market bulletin – up 153,000 from the previous year. Many of these women are already working mothers or will become working mothers in the future. But, rather than seeing the potential value working mothers can bring to an organisation, many businesses disregard them, which forces many to take jobs that allow them to parent effectively, rather than roles that fully utilise their skillset.  According to the survey, more than 46% of women admit they have skills going to waste in their current role.

What these companies often forget is the skills that come with being a parent. 55% of those surveyed said they are more resilient; 60% more patient; 43% more confident; 47% more productive; and 39% more agile since becoming a mother. These are all important skills for the modern workplace. So, what is stopping employers from hiring them?

Past issues and future possibilities

Gendered cultural norms around breadwinning and caregiving led to discrimination against mothers and perpetuated existing gender inequalities in the workplace. To address these gender inequalities in the workplace, employers can be more inclusive by offering flexible and remote working options.

When asked what is needed to be employed as a working mother, 61% said flexible working hours, 33% said the ability to work from home, and 37% said a hybrid model allowing them to work from home and the office. By providing flexible working in terms of hours, location, training, and development, many feel they would be able to progress to the next stage in their career.

Another old-fashioned view is that women fall behind in their career when they take time off to have a baby. But results from the survey show that two out of three women have expressed a desire for more training and development programmes following parental leave. Nowadays, training resources are available at our fingertips, so companies can provide working mums with an online curriculum that allows them to maintain and expand their skillset – even when taking a career break. Despite this, 39% were not being offered the skills development they needed, while 14% were being offered training that does not fit around their life as a mum.

By fostering a culture of inclusivity, companies benefit from increased staff retention rates and diverse perspectives. Insights, solutions, and opportunities that may have been previously missed can be exploited. In purely business terms, a workforce that is more reflective of society is likely to enable a business to exploit unseen opportunities.

Open-door policy

Although companies are becoming more progressive, a small portion (16%) of working mothers feel they cannot discuss their needs as a mother with their boss, even though the majority feel trusted in the workplace. Given that 37% of women reported a mental health condition after becoming a parent, leadership needs to maintain an open line of communication to ensure working mothers feel their voices are heard and issues addressed. Failure to foster such an environment may lead to them either suffering in silence or simply leaving the organisation.

A helping hand from technology

SkillsNow has built a HR Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform to address these challenges. The platform is fully configurable with modules designed to optimise the creation and management of digital talent, enabling organisations to onboard new employees, and provide training and Continuous Professional Development (CDP) in relevant skills to existing employees. This results in reduced risk and cost to employers, while improving employee satisfaction and retention – a win-win for employers worried about the talent shortage and working mothers concerned about the future of their career.  

When a woman comes back to work after having a baby, new ways of working are needed. If more companies acknowledge and adapt their ways of working to accommodate them, they will reap the rewards brought by employees that feel both appreciated and empowered.