12 working moms speak up about the benefits they want from employers

May 5, 2021 4:37 PM

Mothers have an uncanny ability to make hard work look easy. But even the toughest moms struggled with the pressure brought on by the pandemic, not to mention the shift to remote work and virtual learning for the kids. One silver lining? Employers are finally listening to working moms' needs.

Fifty-one percent of the mothers who quit their jobs during the pandemic said they did so because their children’s schools and daycares were closed, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study also found that mothers were more likely to miss work due to schooling or childcare than fathers.

Read More: The 16 most popular employee perks

“If there’s one stark reminder that the pandemic drilled home for employers, I hope it’s that their employees are more than the empty desk left behind in an unused workspace,” says Michelle Crecca, chief marketing officer for the U.S. businesses at Prudential Financial. “Team members need flexibility — and encouragement to take time off — to remain both happy and productive at work. It’s something I learned early in my career as I balanced a senior role with raising three children.”

Many employers have boosted their benefits offerings as a result of the pandemic, and working parents are keeping their fingers crossed that organizations will continue to allow flexible work schedules once offices reopen.

We asked 12 moms to share their thoughts on the support they’ve received from their employers, and where there's room for improvement. Scroll through to see what they have to say.

Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy

“We have four kids and for six months of the pandemic, my husband and I juggled our little baby without any other help, which meant breastfeeding, rocking, and diaper changing while on zoom. I have been grateful everyday for my team members' patience, focus, compartmentalization, and empathy as we all have families we're worried about.

I've relied heavily on Wellthy to find a nanny for our baby, in-home care for my mother-in-law and rehab facilities for my 98-year-old grandfather. I've also benefited from a flexible schedule: I block 5pm to 7pm every day to do dinner with the family and bedtime with little Annie. While quarantine poses more extreme circumstances for many families, most of us will wish to continue some of our new family routines post-pandemic and will seek our employer's support with providing caregiving services, flexibility and open-mindedness.”

Allison Whalen, CEO of Parentaly

“Candidates today consider benefits like paid parental leave, backup childcare, and flexible work arrangements when comparing job offers. I have heard so many stories of parents citing these benefits as the deciding factor when making a recruitment decision — both because they want these benefits, and because they view these benefits as a signal of the company culture.

Everything comes down to childcare. When we have childcare, we are thriving. When we don't have childcare, everything falls apart. There are no sufficient hacks: without childcare, it's impossible to do good work over an extended period of time.”

Erin Grau, Cofounder of Reset Work

“The pandemic has taught me how to keep my center of gravity over my home and family. Today, work is more inclusive and flexible. Let that be the starting position for designing work going forward. Mothers remain out of the workforce at higher rates than other groups since the pandemic started. School openings, childcare availability and affordability are all factors in working parents' ability to return to work and offices. It's important to keep talking about caregiving obligations and to provide employees with the support and resources they need to balance work and family responsibilities.”

Kristyn Mitich, Benefits Specialist for Total Rewards, Healthcare & Wellbeing Strategy at Boeing

“Navigating the pandemic and working from home full time has been a rollercoaster of both challenges and rewards. Having two children under four who are aware that Mom is in the house, but cannot sit on Mom’s lap or be held by Mom every second of the day, has been the biggest challenge. The greatest reward is that I am here at the beginning and the end of the workday and do not need to commute an extra hour each day. This is now time that I can spend watching them grow and develop.”

Cheryl Larson, President and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health

“The sandwich generation is a real thing and I lived it before my Mom passed a few years ago. Being torn between work, family and caregiving roles is exhausting. It’s critical that employers recognize the role of parents, children and work responsibilities as they design their benefit offerings.”

Suzanne Delbanco, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform

“Employees bring their whole person to work. Though we are trained and expected to compartmentalize to focus on the job at hand, parents always have their kids on their minds.

As a boss and a mom, I know the multiple, full-time jobs parents have. I’ve gotten to create the culture at my non-profit, which allows for flexibility, whether blocking time on our calendars for exercise, or volunteering in our kids’ classrooms. If you need a job done, give it to the busiest person — parents work incredibly efficiently, even if sometimes that means getting work done after the kids go to bed.”

Michelle Crecca, Chief Marketing Officer of U.S. Businesses at Prudential Financial

“Many working parents, especially mothers, have faced the difficult decision of choosing between progressing their careers or caring for their families. When we lose women in the workplace, employers also lose valuable talent and unique perspectives that are key to building diversity, equity and inclusion. And the topic of flexibility to drive employee retention and satisfaction doesn’t stop with parents. Caregivers come from all ages and demographics, as I found myself to be for my father at the young age of 24. When we start prioritizing employees’ needs outside of the workplace, employers will reap benefits internally.”

Leigh Moynihan, Head of Marketing at Volvo Car Americas Region

“In today’s environment, it’s incredibly important for employers to offer better support to working parents at all stages of parenthood. We recently introduced a policy that aims to do just that, with particular respect to the early months of a child becoming part of a family. This new policy — Family Bond by Volvo Cars — is a generous, gender-neutral parental leave policy with no parameters related to age, marital status, or the way in which a child comes into your life.

I’ve heard from multiple women across our company — in just the few weeks since we introduced the policy — that this is a game-changer that will enable them to keep their job and remain in the workforce. For people who are sole providers for their families, this eliminates the huge burden of having to compromise or make trade-offs at home and at work.”

Heather Lavallee, CEO of Wealth Solutions at Voya Financial

“The separation between work life and home life became non-existent when the pandemic started. As a mother, I can fully appreciate how many mothers were forced to become even more agile and flexible than they were before. At first, many thought of this as a temporary situation until the pandemic passed. However, after seeing so much success with productivity at work and the pros of being around family more, many employers, including Voya, realized this will now become the new norm for working environments and there is opportunity to provide working parents with greater support at work.

Voya teamed up with the care platform Wellthy to help employers and employees address this pressing need. My hope is that caregivers will soon have equitable opportunities at long-term careers without guilt.”

Denise Nichols, Senior Vice President and HR leader at Voya Financial Health and Wealth Solutions

“There is an added level of stress for many individuals who are trying to balance caring for young children and navigating online schooling, while working in this new remote environment.

Previously, employees didn’t need as much support to educate their children or to find dependent care. Now, these are top of mind needs for many. What has worked best for our company and for me personally aren’t necessarily the concrete benefits, but rather providing more flexibility. Encouraging flexibility demonstrates respect for employees who need to balance the demands of being a whole person.”

Kate Torgersen, Founder and CEO of MilkStork

“COVID proved that the challenges of working motherhood aren't just family issues — they’re employer issues. Parents — especially moms — can’t show up for eight hours of productive work every day if no one’s watching, feeding, teaching, caring for, nurturing, and supporting their kids. Up until COVID, working families relied on — and employers benefited from — a largely grassroots, peer-to-peer, often mom-driven community-based village, to ensure that kids were covered while the parents worked. In the wake of COVID, it’s clear that the village needs infrastructure and employers must invest in its building and reimagining.

The path to working moms’ participation in the workforce and access to their ambition, productivity, ingenuity, leadership, is paved by employers providing flexibility, equal pay, maternal support, help with childcare, and paid leave. Research shows that companies with women in leadership outperform those that don’t. The question isn’t why would you provide these benefits, it’s why wouldn't you?"

Kate Winget, Managing Director for Morgan Stanley at Work

“The pandemic has caused personal and professional stress on many working mothers and their families. The good news is that workplace benefits are a proven path to help women build a more equitable, secure and healthy financial trajectory. Smart, targeted policies that meet women where they are on their financial journey can also help them stay actively engaged at work. Employers that provide holistic workplace benefits can help to not only close the equity and disparity gaps, but also offer a positive impact on women’s financial journeys when they need it most.”