Realising power and potential of working mums

Research by The Open University (OU) revealed that 46 per cent of mums with young children in Scotland it surveyed are concerned about the cost of childcare when thinking about their careers. Some 44 per cent feel guilty about leaving their children and 45 per cent worry about juggling work, childcare and personal relationships. Almost two-thirds of mums would consider retraining for a new career, but feel they are being held back by multiple barriers, according to its data.

The OU states that, as businesses struggle with skills gaps and politicians seek growth, it is backing mothers to unlock potential. It adds that flexible, affordable study options may be the key to overcoming barriers for those women wanting to return to study.

Its research – conducted by Censuswide – shows that 41 per cent of mums are concerned about the lack of flexibility in working hours when considering a career, with over a quarter worried about fitting study around their parenting schedule. Yet 52 per cent of mums said that flexible learning options, such as part-time or remote study, would most motivate them to retrain.

Other incentives which would encourage Scottish mums to retrain include financial support (49 per cent) and the ability to study remotely (39 per cent).

The OU said it is addressing these concerns as part of its “Mumentum” initiative, designed to empower mums who are ready to progress in their careers now that their children are in school or nursery.

Negotiation expert Florence Rolland says she has made it her life work to empower women to negotiate for themselves, including when it comes to their careers. In the past 18 months alone, she has advised almost 1,000 women on how to improve their salary negotiations. She is also responsible for the MBA Negotiation program at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Florence says: “Returning to work after a career break can be daunting for women, particularly if they feel like they’ve lost confidence. Negotiation skills are crucial at this juncture, as women often possess strong interpersonal skills, essential for effective negotiation, but may lack confidence in advocating for themselves. This can be due to societal expectations or a perceived lack of self-worth.

“Negotiation training can be a critical tool in combating this and help empower women to confidently articulate their values and needs. This is particularly important when re-entering the workforce, where they may face challenges like lower starting salaries or limited opportunities. By honing negotiation skills, women can confidently discuss compensation, benefits, and career advancement, ensuring they are fairly valued for their experience and expertise.

She adds that negotiation is not just about financial gains, it’s about people knowing their own self-worth, asserting themselves, setting boundaries, and achieving work-life balance.

These skills enable women to navigate workplace dynamics, advocate for flexible work arrangements, and secure resources necessary for success when it comes to making career-changing decisions in the workplace, Florence says.

She explains: “Understanding your value – and standing up for it – is essential. By mastering negotiation, women can overcome potential setbacks associated with career gaps and achieve their professional goals.”

More businesses are offering tailored support to recruit and retain women. One such is Barrhead Travel, where a significant percentage of the workforce is female. Women at the Scottish-headquartered group form more than three-quarters of its senior management team, with many having started out as trainees or apprentices.

Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel, says it is a great source of pride to her that the company is a passionate champion for women in the workplace.

She observes: “Being a woman in business still has its challenges in the modern age. But to be surrounded by so many resilient female leaders who are making waves in the industry and helping to pave the way for the next generation of women in business is really uplifting.

“More widely, we want to give our whole team the resources and opportunities to learn about those normally ‘unspoken’ topics like menopause.

“Last year, we launched our first official Menopause Employee Resource Group, called Menomates, to drive forward initiatives and conversations surrounding the menopause. More than half the general workforce will experience the menopause at some point in their lives, and the other half will likely have loved ones who are impacted. Yet, it still remains a taboo topic – particularly when it comes to workplaces. We must see more change on this front across all industries; it is incumbent on organisations to lead the charge on integrating health and wellbeing initiatives into the workplace.”

As part of a wider initiative with its parent organisation, Barrhead Travel also recently hosted an in-person event with the former government menopause employment champion, Helen Tomlinson, to address its Glasgow team.

Jacqueline says: “The feedback in the room from both men and women was excellent, with many commenting that they felt they understood how to manage their teams better – and could apply some of this new education to their home lives, too.

“It’s so crucial to open these spaces for conversation, creating a supportive environment for our team to thrive. After all, investing in our people is good for business.”

One area which has traditionally been seen as a male domain is investing, but there are now efforts to encourage women to consider a career in investment, and to put their money into female-led businesses to encourage and support entrepreneurship.

For example, Mint Ventures, a women-led angel investment group, aims to address gender inequalities.

Gillian Fleming, founder and chief executive of Mint Ventures, says: “Angel investing has traditionally been male dominated and there has never been a more optimum time for that to change. The UK Government is helping to spearhead this movement with its Invest in Women Taskforce, which aims to unlock future economic growth in creating one of the world’s largest investment pools for female-led and mixed businesses.

“Having more conversations to raise awareness of gender systemic bias, and the opportunities available to invest in start-up companies, will help to unlock more capital to support more women and diverse founders.”

Gillian highlights the fact that – unbeknown to many – women hold more than 50 per cent of the UK’s wealth, but only 14 per cent of angel investors in the UK are women and only 3 per cent of all equity capital raised goes to women-led businesses. Yet typical positive gender characteristics of women, such as advanced risk awareness and taking heed of socio-economic considerations, make women excellent investors.

She adds: “By angel investors, we’re talking about making investments in unlisted stocks in early-stage companies. Not only could we have shareholders truly reflecting a company’s customer’s base if more women became investors, but we’d also see more balance created across sectors that are often underfunded, such as women’s health and wellbeing, which help to tackle critical women’s issues head on [including] fertility, menopause, and hormone health, for example.

“For anyone starting out a business it’s a rollercoaster journey, but it can be especially so for women as they’re often juggling caring commitments, and they tend to self-fund in the early stages due to challenges in accessing equity investment. Women-led businesses are half as likely to receive venture capital funding than male-led businesses, but diverse-led businesses are more sustainable.”

Gillian explains that someone can become an accredited angel investor through being a Mint Ventures member for six months and invest as little as £2,000 per company deal – a sum she says could easily be spent on a designer handbag or piece of jewellery.

She adds: “There are so many exciting opportunities to be had which is why it’s absolutely crucial that we educate more women to realise that they could be an angel, so that we can make greater strides towards creating a more balanced investment landscape for future generations to come.”

CASE STUDY Angela’s dream job made reality

Contacting a careers adviser after moving to a new area was life-changing for teacher Angela Innes and her family.

Support from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) helped Angela change career into her dream job supporting young people in Ayrshire with additional learning needs.

After the pandemic, trained art and design teacher Angela and her husband, Jamie, decided to move from Airdrie to Prestwick for a better lifestyle. The couple started a family but, as her maternity leave was about to end in 2022, Angela realised she wouldn’t be able to manage the daily commute to her high school in Dumbarton.

Hitting a brick wall in her search to find work that would allow her to call upon her many years of experience, and without any knowledge of the local area, Angela contacted her local SDS careers centre for advice.

She was put through to careers adviser Heather Cipa. She in turn contacted the head of supportive education at Ayrshire College, Arlene Trapp, who agreed to meet with Angela to offer information and advice about working in supported learning.

The meeting helped Angela realise her passion to support young people through a guidance related role and confirmed that had the skills to get started.

Soon after, Angela was on the college system and offered two days a week in the Kilmarnock campus, working in the Supported Learning Department. Angela’s passion for the job shone through and she was offered a full-time position helping neurodiverse people access education or prepare for the world of work.