10 Creative Employee Benefits to Support Working Mothers

Organizations are looking for new and creative ways to invest in and connect with their employees. One group companies should be prioritizing is working mothers. McKinsey’s 2020 Women in the Workplace report, conducted with LeanIn.Org, revealed a startling statistic: one in four working women in North America said that they were considering downshifting their careers or dropping out of the workforce entirely. For working mothers, and particularly those with young children, the number was one in three.

Between burnout, the gendered division of domestic labor and childcare responsibility and mental health concerns, working mothers have been hit hard. Below are creative ways organizations can make solid investments in making working mom's feel more supported and their lives just a little easier.

1. Introduce Fair Play to all expectant parents. Send a copy of the book as a way of saying congratulations and to empower them to examine how domestic labor and childcare responsibilities are structured in their home. When these responsibilities are viewed as fairly distributed inside of a household, it opens up opportunity for women to reach their full potential in the workplace.  Follow-up with a Fair Play workshop and/or coaching sessions with a certified Fair Play Facilitator.

2. Offer a monthly or annual childcare stipend to help reduce the burden of childcare costs. According to data from the Center for American Progress, the average monthly cost of licensed childcare for infants is $1,324 and toddlers is $1,096.

3. Provide reimbursement for a monthly pre-natal massage for all expectant mothers during their second and third trimester.  According to the American Pregnancy Association, prenatal massage therapy can help reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression, relieve muscle aches and joint pains, and improve labor outcomes and newborn health.

4. Encourage and reimburse 1:1 career coaching for all women. For companies looking toward the future, the importance of supporting women right now cannot be overstated. According to BetterUp, women participated in 14% more coaching sessions than the general Member population. That reflects a greater commitment to making use of the opportunity. Women are begging for career growth and development opportunities and will take advantage of them when provided.

5. Offer access to a list of memberships including:

   1. Moms Hierarchy of Needs

   2. Newborn and Parenting Support

   3. Mother Honestly

   4. The Cru

6. Offer a monthly book club by providing employees with the ability to expense one digital e-book per month. This empowers them to tap into their creativity and to seek new and interesting information.

7. Empower Mothers to outsource household tasks. Provide a monthly or annual stipend for house cleaning, prepared meals, landscaping, babysitting, etc. Remove some of the extra stuff on mom's plate and create space for her to unwind and enjoy some "me time" or a "date night."

8. Create equal paid family leave policy for primary and secondary caregivers and provide it to ALL new parents including adoption and surrogacy. Ideally your policy should include two weeks prior to due-date and 4+months after baby is born.

9. Educate all employees on infertility options including: fertility preservation like egg and sperm freezing, IVF, donor and gestational carrier services, adoption, pregnancy, and menopause and low testosterone. Provide services like Carrot, a global solution for fertility benefits.

10. Offer formal and informal mentorship opportunities as a career development tool.  Mentoring comes in many forms and can be in person or virtual and structured as a 1:1, group or peer structure. Having formal opportunities eliminates the fear of asking for a mentor and provides structure around the mentor relationship. According to the Association for Talent Development, mentoring can have significant impact on business goals, employee retention and career growth.

InfiniDEI’s founder, Tara Ryan is both a certified professional coach and Fair Play facilitator and would love to partner with your organization.

Contact her to learn more!

There are plenty of ways to get creative in supporting and investing in the mothers that work for you. Which benefits will you adopt?