Women partners at the prestigious US law firm Skadden Arps are sent out to talk to the young female associates about their future. The word nanny is mentioned even before baby is.<\/p>\n
A succesful tech company in Eugene, Oregon has taken a different path. Gwen Moran writes: Palo Alto Software, a company that develops business planning and other business-focused software, every day is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. CEO Sabrina Parsons, who has led the company since 2007, is a staunch advocate of family-friendly policies and is trying to help her employees and others in the tech sector deal with the fact that people have babies. Taking care of them shouldn\u2019t derail your career.<\/p>\n
Parsons says that the juggling work and parenting is tough for all parents, but the physical and societal demands placed on women hold particular challenges. From getting pregnant and giving birth to the disparity in many caregiving situations, she says parenting puts women\u2019s careers at risk more than men\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re in the prime of your career with all of this experience, when you get mommy-tracked. They get \u2018concerned\u2019 that you can\u2019t do your job. That\u2019s a huge reason why we\u2019re not seeing women in leadership roles across Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies and in politics,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
So, Parsons–the mother of three boys ages 10, 7, and 4–is trying to show them how it\u2019s done. At her 55-person tech firm, which was founded by her father, employees enjoy family-friendly policies including flex time and an environment that welcomes children. Parsons herself brought her children to work after they were born, and wore them on a sling around her neck until they were four months old, allowing her to practice attachment parenting while being the CEO of the company, she says.<\/p>\n
Kids have comfy couches, crayons, and \u201cthere\u2019s always a spare iPad or laptop around,\u201d she says. The company also offers employee health club memberships, which include children\u2019s programs on some days, so parents can take a break by bringing their children to the gym or taking them to lunch, she says.<\/p>\n
Palo Alto\u2019s kid-friendly policies aren\u2019t a substitution for day care and there are limits. You can\u2019t bring your kids to work every day, but if they have a week off of school or a particular day when your child care situation has hit a bump in the road, the policies give you options, Parsons says. Children need to sit quietly with their parents–no running and screaming in the halls allowed. And colicky babies aren\u2019t welcome because they\u2019re too disruptive.<\/p>\n
While still a small firm, Parsons says that her policies have had real bottom-line benefits. First, Palo Alto enjoys a loyal workforce with little turnover, she says. Fully one-third of her development team is women versus Silicon Valley\u2019s average of 7%.<\/p>\n
Revenue from the company\u2019s flagship product has grown 106% over the past 12 months, which she attributes to the contributions of loyal, happy employees. That includes the four working fathers who take advantage of the kid-friendly policies on a regular basis, she says. But there is still more work to do to get all working parents feeling supported and able to pursue their careers without having to sacrifice their roles as parents, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more women in a position to say that we are going to have these types of policies. It\u2019s just assumed that it\u2019s unprofessional. Why is it unprofessional? We need to find a way to make work and family work for everyone,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
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Women partners at the prestigious US law firm Skadden Arps are sent out to talk to the young female associates about their future. The word nanny is mentioned even before baby is. A succesful tech company in Eugene, Oregon has … Continue reading