Will the job or the children come first most of the time?
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 The Times newspaper on November 20th dedicated three pages to the perils of working mothers.

It said a government work force is to suggest that parents of young children be given the right to ask for shorter hours at work.

It came in the same week as a tribunal ruled that a policewoman should be given the right to refuse to work inconvenient shifts. The case was brought to court after her employees refused to allow her to work the same days each week – the same days that her children went to nursery. She was told that all police officers had to work varied shifts.

The debate continues as some suggest that there should be no special treatment in the workplace. ‘ If women are doing the same job as men they must do the same work.’

Others suggest that the workplace is never fair. ‘ Are we suppose to shed our real lives when we walk into the office. The working mother is suppose to pretend that she doesn’t have children; the husband whose wife has a delimitating disease is suppose pretend that this is not the case; and the sister who has lost her brother in a car crash has to work on as if nothing has happened. ‘

There are always going to be times when employers have to be sensitive to the lives and lifestages of their employees. But as a mother the question must be: will the job or the children come first most of the time?

It is simply not possible to have 100% of everything. Neither to work nor to stay at home is right, a mixture should be possible. Personal choice and circumstance play a big part.

Parenthood is exhausting, juggling work and home life is complicated - mums know that life is full of inconvenient complications – be they at home or work. It is not fair but it is true. But what they want is to be allowed to make the choice, and to have some understanding of their situation.

Workplaces are becoming more flexible because THEY HAVE TO. It makes better sense – it is the only practical way forward. Most mums and dads need to work for the money. Workplaces could not survive without them, so it is sensible to accommodate parental needs. Somehow we must all get away from the idea that we are all single in the workplace. The idea that we all need to work the same hours at every stage of our lives is as strange as the idea that we must all take the same number of sick days each year.

Employers need to be tolerant of the demands of parenthood in the same way as we would be if someone was ill or if a single man had an aged mum in need of support.

Life is full of compromise and the office needs to be too. It doesn’t mean we are not committed.

Those that think there should not be any special treatment for working mothers need to understand that the choice they have made means they pay a price for their decision. They may have negotiated a special deal but their career prospects have most probably been affected too. Their choices are fewer, their bonus diminished; there is not time for the social side of work. Quite frankly they are on the edge of exhaustion juggling the demands of both home and work. But they have made a choice and it should be respected. And supported.

Our jobs are hugely rewarding; it is just that trying to do them, and enjoy our families, is a hell of a stress. says Patricia Hewitt MP

Working mothers could not have a more committed politician fighting with them – Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Minister for Women is lobbing for more family friendly policies in the workplace.

A working mother herself, Patricia says ‘ looking after families is just as much a political issue as how we create a competitive economy.

The work/family balance is my priority as Women’s Minister – and it dovetails absolutely with my DTI mission, which is to help British business become more profitable.’

Patricia believes that addressing the work/life balance issue will persuade women that politics is relevant. She will pursue this agenda by persuading businesses that being family-friendly is not a social add-on but about making a better profit. A company that is flexible with its employees retains them for longer, increases productivity and experiences less sickness and absenteeism.


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