Returning Mother

Introduction

The goal of this toolkit is to enable WePOWER partners in South Asia, particularly utilities, to help employees who are newer parent(s), especially mothers, better balance the professional demands and childcare responsibilities.

Employers, as well as employees, can benefit from such an approach. Research shows that parents who feel supported by their organization demonstrate loyalty, commitment to their jobs and employers, and are more likely to remain in the workforce.

The following seven tools make up the core of this toolkit. The tools provide templates that organizations can customize to suit their own conditions and circumstances. They are designed to help you to design, implement, and gauge the effectiveness of the measures they undertake to support their working parent especially mother employees.

1) Structure of the Toolkit

This toolkit is organized into four sections:

1) Context

Background: Summarizes the existing data and literature from multiple sources. In many instances, we supplement data from South Asia with relevant country specific and global data.
Challenges: Organizes the key challenges into broad categories to help provide some clarity to the complex issues confronting employers and employees.
Solutions: Discusses what is being done by stakeholders to address the challenges.

2) Tools: Presents the 7 core tools for organizations to support their working parents.

3) Examples: Showcases relevant activities and initiatives undertaken by WePOWER partners

4) Additional resources: Further readings which have been organized into topics.

1) Context

Background: What Does the Data Tell Us?

Worldwide, parents who need and/or want to work must find ways to reconcile their parenting and professional responsibilities. This is especially true for women in many countries, who face numerous barriers to working outside the home. Read More

Challenges

The challenges for professionals who are pregnant or parents of young and/or special needs children are both complex and multidimensional. To simplify the rationale for the tools in this toolkit, we found it helpful to group them into 5 categories, that are distinct yet interwoven with each other. Read More

Solutions

The following ‘Solution areas’ provide the bulk of the rationale for the tools in this toolkit and are grounded in both literature and the practical experiences of different types of organizations, especially utilities. Read More

2) Tools

We have created 7 core tools for organizations to support their working parents. Each toolkit addresses a major challenge that an organization may face:

Tool 1: Guide for Setting up Lactation Room

Tool 2: Remote Work Agreement Template

Tool 3: Flexible Work Agreement Template

Tool 4: Checklist for Manager Briefing Packet

Tool 5: Checklist for Employee Briefing Packet

Tool 6: Parental Policies Feedback Procedure and form

Tool 7: Exit Survey