Job prospects for Mothers slump: survey

The proportion of firms intending to hire more working mothers has slumped by one-fifth compared to last year, a global survey by workspace solutions provider Regus has revealed.
Compared to a year ago, when 44% of companies planned to hire working mothers, only 36% are expect to do so in 2011.
In Qatar, where 60% of companies plan to add staff, only 47% of firms were planning to hire more working mothers.
When compared to the overall business employment expectations, where 45% of companies globally intending to make new hires in 2011, the Regus study showed that intentions to employ working mums has fallen considerably below this level.
The report also reveals residual concerns among a minority of employers, who still fear that working mothers may show less commitment and flexibility than other employees (37%), leave shortly after training to have another child (33%) or have outdated skills (24%).
In Qatar employers were particularly concerned about working mums taking time off to have another baby (60%), and about out-of-date skills (53%).
On the positive side, a majority of businesses now value returning mothers, with 72% declaring they believe companies that ignore part-time returning mothers are missing out on a significant and valuable part of the employment pool.
In addition, 56% regard working mums as offering skills that are difficult to find in the current market; and 57% declare that they value returning mothers because they offer experience and skills without demanding top salaries.
In Qatar, not demanding top salaries was higher than the global average (67%), perhaps indicating that there is still a lot of work to be done to reach salary equality between working mothers and their colleagues.
Regus CEO Mark Dixon commented that it is not surprising to see that prejudiced attitudes come back into play with economic belt-tightening and some businesses are evidently still guilty of applying old-fashioned misgivings to the contemporary work environment.
In addition to this, in Qatar only 36% of women are reportedly part of the workforce. While the vast majority of firms agree that barring the door to working mums means shutting out valuable staff, there is some concern that family commitments may hinder working mothers from giving their job full attention and commitment.
Flexible work arrangements are becoming the norm and savvy businesses will find that they are able to provide a more family friendly and at the same time more productive work environment simply by allowing employees to work alternative hours or closer to home, Dixon said.
“Recognising that the needs of working mums are not exceptional and extending them to all workers will provide productivity and overheads reduction benefits as well as making for more motivated staff,” he added.

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