Happy Mother's Day 2023: Here's what organisations can do to support mothers juggling professional and personal life

From excelling at work to taking care of the family, mothers juggle innumerable tasks and while a focus on work-life balance is essential, organisations must have inclusion embedded into their work culture and this Mother's Day is the best time to do so. Organisations need to rise above the flexibility conversation for mothers and really reimagine their policies on flexible working as a recent survey by ‘Careering into Motherhood’ revealed that out of a survey of 2,000 working mothers, 65% felt they had limited career opportunities following a maternity leave and almost half felt that their promotions would be hampered with flexible working. Happy Mother's Day 2023: Here's what organisations can do to support mothers juggling professional and personal life In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Joseph Fernandes, Senior Vice President and Head, People and Capability for South Asia at Mastercard, shared, “With diversity, equity and inclusion grounded in broader commitment to empowering people, organisations should strive to create an engaging workplace for women that supports them through various life stages, while providing numerous opportunities to grow professionally and personally. Additionally, implement weekly flex timings, enabling employees to take time off every week to focus on their learning and well-being.” He suggested, “Offer industry leading benefits, health covers, financial assistance policies for adoption, surrogacy and fertility treatments and a 16-week leave for new parents. In a nutshell, organisations need to devise more empathetic policies and really address the fine balance between what women want and what the organization needs.” He added, “Creating equity by providing equal access to resources and opportunities depending on their situation, accommodate policies like promotion and evaluation parameters for work-from-home scenarios, set realistic work goals and expectations, workplace mentors are just some examples of change.