HAVING children and the lack of benefits for working mothers caused many Pinays to miss out on career breaks and quit the work force altogether, according to a study conducted by Monster.com.
In a study conducted in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, data showed 59 percent of Filipina women feel they have missed out on career opportunities because of their decision to have children.
Further, around 49 percent of Filipinas said employee compensation/benefits for mothers are below expectations. Around 55 percent of women said their employers do not provide more parental leave than is required.
“Although respondents in the Philippines had the highest number of respondents able to utilize flexible working options in Southeast Asia, there is still room for improvement to better support and manage the workloads for working mothers. This is reflected by the fact that over 50 percent of working Filipinas surveyed feel that they miss out on crucial career milestones after having children,” said Abhijeet Mukherjee, CEO, Monster.com-APAC & Gulf.
“Women are an integral component of the Philippines’s working population and many either choose or need to work to support their families. If companies make an effort to build an inclusive culture which supports women and working mothers, they will see a marked improvement in their retention rates,” Mukherjee added.
A lack of flexible working arrangements (32 percent) and struggling to balance demands from clients and colleagues, as well as family life (58 percent) were some of the answers provided by working women and new mothers when asked about challenges faced at work.
Data showed that working from home for Pinays is only an option for 37 percent of the respondents. Nearly half, or 47 percent, of working mothers in the Philippines even feel obligated to work overtime.
This makes it difficult for many women to balance the demands of their work and family. Around 58 percent of Filipina respondents identified this as the primary obstacle to becoming a successful working mother.
“To combat this, respondents suggested solutions such as flexible work arrangements tailored to the mothers’ needs [37 percent], efficient communication with mothers about leave policies [17 percent], and a transition period consisting of reduced workload [16 percent],” Monster.com said.
The study, which surveyed over 2,600 respondents across the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia aimed to identify challenges women and mothers face in the workplace, in line with Mother’s Day.
It also aimed to raise attention to these issues for employers, who might want to consider more family-friendly arrangements to aid in increasing retention and lowering overall attrition of the female work force.
For more than 20 years, Monster has been a leading online career and recruitment resource. Currently, it has more than 200 million people registered on the Monster Worldwide network.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
