The study of more than 800 business divisions from two employers from the retail and hospitality sectors also found that gender-diverse divisions report better financial outcomes than those dominated by one gender.
This is why workplace benefits, such as paid maternity leave, are crucial for employers that want to retain skilled female staff as part of their efforts in winning the war for talent.
A number of employers offer attractive maternity packages, combining fully paid maternity leave and return-to-work coaching and bonuses, because they recognise the importance of retaining their female talent.
Vodafone is currently leading the way with its global maternity policy, which offers female staff 16 weeks’ fully paid maternity leave, plus full pay for working a reduced 30-hour week for the first six months when they return to work. And this will apply to female staff across the telecommunication organisation’s 30 operating divisions across the globe.
What many employers fail to realise is that maternity policies need not cost the earth. For organisations with a limited benefits budget, a discretionary approach with line managers offering flexible working hours, a mutually agreeable level of contact while they are on maternity leave together with a supported return-to-work programme could be enough to help retain some mothers in work.
And let us not forget fathers, who should be treated equally, as part of an employer’s working parents policy, hence the government’s decision to introduce new rules for shared parental leave, effective from 1 April 2015.
There is nothing paternal about this approach; it is simply good business practice that more employers should apply to their organisation.
Clare Bettelley
Associate Editor
Employee Benefits
@Clarebenefits
