While large organisations continue to out-sprint each other in the parental leave race — by offering more days and weeks than their competitors — women running businesses are determining their own way of doing things.
In some cases, that means returning to work shortly after giving birth, as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer famously did after the birth of her first child, and plans to do again when her twins are due later this year. No doubt many such high-profile and well-paid leaders manage to ‘have it all – baby and all’ with plenty of support, help, and enough cash to pay for nannies, breastmilk transportation and whatever else is needed.
But in other cases, particularly when it’s a small, adaptable, business involved, returning to work quickly means more closely aligning work with life.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting a small Sydney-based accessories label run by two sisters with very young children. The office had been overhauled to include a large playpen and a series of small gates to section off desks and computers. Two toddlers played under the supervision of their grandmother. The two sisters worked at their computers, one with a baby in a sling. They could work the hours they wanted and take breaks where needed to attend to the needs of their children.
Of course they were just as exhausted as any new mothers, but together – with some help and a few clever office adjustments – they were growing the business while raising young children.
I was reminded of this when reading a Forbes interview with Stacey Bendet, CEO and creative director of Alice and Olivia. Bendet spoke to Forbes contributor Samantha Ettus 12 days after having her third child. She returned to work six days after a Caesarean delivery, initially for a few hours a day before returning home in the early afternoons.
She experienced plenty of backlash on social media after posting pictures of herself back in the office, but finds the judgement unfair. It’s not what every new mother should or could do, but it’s what she wanted and was able to do. She says she could have taken a few months off, but she preferred to come in and work a few hours a day, with her baby in the office.
After I tweeted this interview this week, Adore Beauty founder and CEO Kate Morris instantly replied that being able to integrate your work and life is one of the best things about running a business.
Morris has been running Adore Beauty for 15 years, selling beauty products online and now often shipping more than 1000 orders a day. She took six weeks off after the birth of her daughter but kept in touch the entire time and remembers sending emails just an hour after the birth. Working with her partner, the two returned to work part time after six weeks, sharing morning and afternoon shifts. She says she makes the office as flexible as possible for staff members, and has a number of male staff working flexibly to accommodate their needs at home.
Marissa Mayer received plenty of ‘feedback’ after announcing she’ll take two weeks maternity leave when her identical twins are due in December, despite Yahoo offering eight weeks to employees. There are some who say she couldn’t possibly make reasonable judgement calls in a large organisation with twin babies. Others who say Yahoo’s in that much trouble that she’ll simply disappear after the birth. Then there are those who claim she’s putting pressure on other women to return to work before they’re ready.
Mayer’s plans wouldn’t work for everyone. Nor does anyone else have to follow her lead. Like business owners who build nurseries into their offices and breastfeed at their desks, or the law firm partner who takes a clean 12 months off from work, you do what’s realistic for you. Money and access to support will always be a deciding factor, as will the health and sleep routines of the baby.
But seeing how women are managing in a range of different ways, and watching businesses physically transform to meet the changing needs of those who run them, can hopefully lessen the judgement regarding how a mother should behave after giving birth. After all, parental leave shouldn’t be a one-sized fits all scenario.