The Glass Slide

Lessons in Employee Experience #2

We’ve all heard of the Glass Ceiling (I hope). There’s even the Glass Cliff or ledge (that’s for another post).

But have you ever heard of the Glass Slide? No? Of course not. I made it up. But it’s meaning, is very real. It aims to describe the transparent effect of motherhood on women’s careers and salary prospects.

Think of your career like a game of snakes and ladders. As women, we’re happily climbing our career ladders, until we roll the dice of life…and it lands on FERTILITY! Whether cultural, societal, personal or hormonal pressures, we will inevitably land, at some point, on whether to have children or not.

And it ALWAYS comes, quite inconveniently, at a point when we’re actually getting somewhere on our corporate career ladders. I like to follow Indra Nooyi, ex-CEO of PepsiCo – who famously quoted “the biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with each other”. The employee experience of a woman climbing the corporate ladder is hard as it is. That of a working Mum, is even worse.

I re-posted a few months back, an article from the Economist: How Motherhood Hurts Careers . It cites research by LSE and Princeton universities, building on the work of Claudia Goldin (Nobel prize winning Harvard economist for her work on Gender Inequality). It shows a sharp (34%) decline in women in the workforce after they become mothers. Following articles go on to investigate the gender pay gap and how it’s largely attributed to women having children. This is known as the Motherhood Penalty…or as I like to coin it, the Glass Slide. It’s when women slide back down a few corporate ladders, when they become mothers.

Why does this happen? Or eve, how? Where to begin?!

1)???? First let’s tackle why women drop out of working altogether:

For some, the cost of childcare outweighs their salaries. It doesn’t make economic sense either. In some countries, governments are attempting to support the financial burden of childcare to help incentivise women back to work. But, these efforts have so far only proven to increase the rate back up by 4% (according to research published by the World Bank).

A study conducted by Welch’s found that working Mum’s clock an average of 98 hours per week…which equates to working 2.5 full-time jobs. Now, tell me this.... Who the hell wants to work stressed, mentally drained, sleep deprived AND underpaid for 1 full-time job, let alone 2?!

2)???? Now, let’s look why women’s salaries take a nose-dive:

We read and talk an awful lot about the Gender pay gap (especially around International Women’s Day…don’t get me started). Once again, some governments attempt to intervene with policies that encourage companies to close that gap, but that’s as far as they can go. Companies and their DEI need to step in and take action.

In relation to motherhood, some women consciously decide to take on part-time work or less taxing work, in an attempt to juggle parenting AND earn some income…therefore earning less than they did before.

What many women DON’T see coming, is the Glass Slide. For those who expect to return to work after a few months of maternity leave, to the same job, at the same salary that they left behind, often find themselves at the bottom of a glass slide.

Mothers may find themselves slipping immediately after announcing pregnancy at work, or some months later, or even years after returning to work.

Some actual, real-life examples (to name a few):

An immediate example: Women who have either been made redundant or their roles have been restructured out of existence, right before starting OR upon returning from their maternity leave.

After some months, example: Women who have decided to take more leave to look after/ spend time with their babies or to simply recover…and then decide to re-apply for a role with the same title, responsibilities, within the same industry, to be offered LESS than what they were on before AND still LESS than their male equivalents.

After some years, or could be anytime in a woman’s career tbh: Women who find they have been leapfrogged by their juniors during or after maternity or are not even considered for promotion because they have been out of the job market. Or look back at their career years later, to realise that that they’re even further behind their male colleagues

The Glass Slide almost feels unreal, but it is….for many working mothers, who look back on their careers. Not for all, obviously! I know many admirable women who have jumped right back onto those ladders, skilfully dodging that slippery Glass slide. I also know many (equally admirable) women who have jumped off the corporate ladder altogether...realising that it's just not a battle worth fighting if they can enjoy a more fulfilling, more balanced lifestyle by seeking an entirely different career path.

The Actual vs. the Perceived Challenges of the Motherhood Penalty

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the latest instalment of Neil Patwardhan 's Unfiltered series, here in Singapore. It was a wonderful panel talk, performance and networking event. The topic this time, was about Shattering the Glass Ceiling and listening to some rather impressive, respectable, high-achieving women, who now work at some of the world’s largest, well-known companies. (It was here that I thought of a Glass Slide)

They all had smashed their own respective glass ceilings, with the stories and personal sacrifices to prove it. Stories that both inspired and saddened me, that they had to live through these experiences to get to where they are today.

They shared lessons of allyship, sponsorship…resilience, learning killer come-backs…agility, keeping one-step ahead and learning how to blow your own trumpet…are all sage takeaways for both men and women.

A couple of things that stood out for me:

One of the panel speakers, Uma Thana Balasingam mentioned that, as women, there’s a glass ceiling…but also a “sticky floor”.

To help explain, it reminded me of my own personal resistance to ask for that promotion…or go for that job. It would be initially feelings of fear: “they’d never consider ME for that role anyway…there’ll be some other candidate they would consider before me”. That still sits with me today, btw.

This was a feeling that I felt the most after I became a mother. My perception of my value and my confidence in the workplace had disintegrated within a year.

The second thing that stuck with me, was hearing stories of sacrifice. Again, exuding strength in her vulnerability, Uma talked about the mental and emotional drain of having to face battle. Every. Single. Day. To have to show-up, prove oneself and be consistent, whilst watching out for pitfalls ahead. It IS exhausting.

A mothers’ sacrifice might be the feeling of guilt, for part-time parenting whilst working. Or actual physical exhaustion from months/ years of poor sleep.

The fact is that there are MANY challenges faced in everyday working lives of everyone, whichever category that you fall into. I’ve since learned that the function of Employee experience should aim to address these very real and perceived challenges. In addition to our own actions as employees, I think that there a few small things that companies and leaders can do...that won’t cost them a penny and doesn't take up much time:

Understand that everyone is different and that things change. Be flexible.

It’s a fairly simple one. Everyone’s experience is different, therefore their needs will be different. I can recount numerous stories of returning mothers who had not been given certain tasks, projects by their managers, because they assumed that it would be “too much” as new parents. Whilst their managers’ hearts may be in the right place, they really should consult their returning mothers first, obviously. Because those mothers who COULD have taken on those projects, are pissed!

Communication is key. And it’s a two-way street.

It’s uncomfortable, I know from experience, to admit when you’re struggling with life, let alone work. Create a safe-space for mothers to speak AT work about their experiences – maybe a group/ community or a team member, that can help them address their worries and challenges.

Secure jobs. Secure Salaries.

Ok, I know I’m entering legal-waters here. But again, fairly simple. Good companies just need to do the right thing. Don't pay women less in your company for being mothers.

Flexible working/ Mum-friendly working conditions

Obvious ones that I know, since the pandemic, companies are still trying to figure out. But, flexible working hours are a must at the very least. So that women can work comfortably, without fear of judgement OR expectation to “make-up” hours that are unseen by most.

As with parenting and life, to be honest, ways of working and employee experience for working mothers will be one big A/B test. But that’s OK. The aim is to avoid those Glass Slides, sticky floors, glass ceilings and any other figurative items that I’ve used here.

As always, I would love to hear your own experiences, thoughts and comments. There's SO much to unpack and I could chat for DAYS if anyone would listen!

If any of this is of interest to you, please do DM me. I am always up for a chat.

Thanks for reading!