Talented Mothers, Please Don’t Quit!

Convincing CPOs that ‘diversity = supercharged outcomes’ is rarely the issue.  The real challenge is being able to recruit – and then retain – the best female talent. Ahead of the launch of BRAVO, we revisit one of Tania Seary’s most popular blogs on life and leadership after maternity leave.

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Flashback: Procurious – the world’s first online social network for procurement and supply chain professionals – was just weeks away from launching and the wait was killing me. It was like re-living those last few weeks waiting for a baby to be born. There’s not much I could do other than hope and pray for a safe delivery. 

This waiting period, in conjunction with my eldest son’s 9th birthday (he’s now 15!) and the daily juggle between work and family, gave me cause for some reflection on the whole topic of motherhood and career.

Faced with nagging feelings of ‘mother’s guilt’, women often abandon the workforce to become full-time mothers. The cost of childcare, peer pressure from other women who are full-time moms and constant juggling challenge – all eventually catch up.  Talented women elect not to return to the workforce, in search of a more peaceful existence. 

Procurement leaders have an important role to play in advancing gender equality: from achieving 50/50 gender representation in the team, to forging an inclusive workforce where women’s careers can thrive. 

Talented women elect not to return to the workforce, in search of a more peaceful existence. 

I could write a book about my journey as a working mother, but in the interest of brevity, I would like to put forward my thoughts on the benefits of staying employed by a company, vs. opening your own business when you become a mother.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE owning my own business, I have had a fantastic time, working with, and for, some great people. But it hasn’t been easy. Also, my business was a few years old when I had my first child, so I wasn’t exactly starting from scratch when I first “went on maternity leave”.

I had a lot of reasons for wanting to start my own business – primarily I had a strong vision of what I wanted to create – I wanted to create a specific workplace culture, more than a specific company … and 16 years on, I’m happy to say that culture is alive and well. I also wanted to do my own thing, be free of the corporate hierarchy which I found very frustrating. I was tired of being judged by peers and leaders I didn’t always respect (this of course was a very naïve reason as you will always be judged – when you’re in your own business, your clients/customers are the ultimate judge!). I also wanted to have children and travel with my busy husband. So there were lots of forces driving me to do my own thing.

But of course, the path I chose took a lot of hard work and perseverance. It took a year before we won our first big client, so I had to fund the business (and myself!) during that period. And then we needed to (and still do!) keep proving ourselves and winning new business, while we’re working on producing quality outcomes. When I had my children, I asked different people to help run the business, with varying degrees of success.

But in the end, it has all worked out … and if you’re feeling an affinity with all the above, I fully encourage you to pursue your dream.

However, I can also see MANY benefits in remaining employed by someone else during your child-bearing years.

Here are my top 5 reasons to work for an employer when having children:-

• Do it for the sisterhood. Australia still has an appalling lack of female representation at the highest levels of business. The more women that actually stay in the workforce, will provide us with the greatest chances of increasing the number of women in the senior ranks.
• Do it for the money. How much money you generate from your own business in the early days totally depends on the business model. However, in my case, I had to fund the business for at least the first 12 months of operation. You need to be prepared for this loss of income. On the flipside, if you stay with a corporate employer today there is more financial support than ever before. When you return to work, you will continue earning at the same rate as previously, and hopefully continue on your career trajectory which will be compensated with salary increases.
• Do it for the recognition. I am going to make a broad assumption that most corporate women have reached their late 20’s, mid ‘30s when deciding to have children. This means you have reached a certain level of success and have built a reputation within your internal stakeholders, suppliers and other third parties. Starting a new business is very humbling (I’m trying to be positive here). You will have many setbacks on your journey to success … and when you do achieve success, it will be only you and your team there to recognise you. In a corporation, you will be recognised and rewarded (well, not always! … but more so than working for yourself.)
• Do it for your development. There’s no doubt that you learn a great deal running your own business, but nothing as formal (unless you organise and pay for it yourself!) as the quality and frequency of training you receive in a large organisation. Think about it – companies train you on everything – from Microsoft office, to the latest legals, compliance and your professional training … maybe even the odd corporate off-site or incentive travel.
• Do it for your sanity and self-esteem. Really, this is a point in favour of either working for yourself or someone else. If you’re the kind of gal that finds domestic life a struggle, just knows she needs to work, or has the all-important financial imperative – then you will no doubt need to get back into the workforce in some capacity. I’ll never forget those early days going back to work. Buying a cup of coffee from my favourite barista, then sitting at my desk in a zen-like state for at least five minutes soaking up the serenity. That was heaven. It saved my sanity and definitely kept my struggling self-esteem somewhat intact.

BRAVO is an eight-month membership program to address the needs, deliver the tools and strategies, and spark the introductions that will empower women. Among the BRAVO Masterclasses, we interview a panel of women CPOs to talk life and leadership after maternity leave … and much, much more! 

BRAVO is for the rising stars, graduates, women returning to the workforce, first-time managers – in short, women who want to advance their careers and drive real world change. Find out about membership here.  

This blog was first published on TaniaSeary.com