June 2008

Progress or procreate

Waaah wwwwwahhhhh ... when is it the 'right' time for a babe in business to have a baby?

As babes, it is easy to become torn between the desire to procreate and the desire to progress up the corporate ladder.

A number of my friends are successful babes, but if asked "when is it the right time to have a baby?" they are torn between wanting to start a family, wanting to continue a spontaneous and fun social life, and wanting to succeed in the world of business.

Who can blame them, their lives, right now, are relatively care-free, energetic and successful. Put a baby into the mix and well, going to the coast on a Saturday morning is out of the question because we don't want to expose the baby to too much sunlight.

Going late-night shopping on Thursday night becomes too much of a hassle because we have to juggle breast-feeding and uncontrollable crying episodes.

Staying up late on Friday night is a drag because we have to get up early and feed the baby.

Oh and breakfast Sunday morning ... sorry - no can do because we've been up all night with an unsettled baby.

Ok not all babies are that bad and having a supportive partner makes a world of difference, but we all agree they are a life-changing responsibility that we must carry selflessly.

Babies affect our careers, our social lives, our family lives, our friendships, our sleeping lives and our every-waking-moment lives!

So the dilemma ... to procreate or progress? Or can we have both?

Although we would all like to think otherwise the business world is still a man's world. I am not being sexist, I am simply stating a fact.

63 per cent of the working population (full-time professionals) is made up of males. As at August 2007, 76 per cent of males were in management positions, in comparison to only 24 per cent of females (www.abs.gov.au). I wonder how many of those females left the workforce to start a family and returned to pursue a successful career.

So in reality, what are the chances of women climbing the corporate ladder after having a baby?

Think about it this way, on average a woman will take 12 months maternity leave after the birth of a child. In 12 months a lot can change and unfortunately it is likely that a woman will lose some of the skills she had developed throughout her career and other skills will become aged and invalid.

New technologies will be introduced, networks and client relationships will need to be rebuilt, policies, procedures and legislation may have changed, workflow management may have progressed and there may be new team structures, colleagues and management.

In essence, when a woman comes back to work after having a baby she may feel like she is back at square one and starting a new full-time job after graduating from university.

It's challenging and when you are succeeding in the business world the thought of leaving to start a family is very daunting, especially if you intend to return to the workforce.

So what can you do? Well you can choose to not have children or here are some ideas (as adopted by other successful babes with babies) to maintain your place in the corporate world:

• Read trade journals. Subscribe to them and have them delivered to your front door. This will keep you up-to-date with the latest trends, concepts and the economy.
  
  
• Become a freelance worker (not all professions apply). If you are a designer, advertiser etc ... freelance your time and skills that way you choose your hours, whilst maintaining your skills and 'employability'.
  
  
• Work part-time. This helps when you have a supportive family who are willing to baby-sit or have the ability to access a childcare facility. The other problem is part-time employment opportunities are sparse.
  
  
• Set-up your own business. This is challenging and very time consuming in the beginning but worthwhile in the long-run if you have the time, commitment and desire to work hard and succeed.
  
  
• Keep connected to people in business. e.g. join Babes in Business and continue to develop networks.

Overall, my conclusion is there is no 'right' time to have a baby, but when your baby comes into the world the timing just seems perfectly right.

I believe babes in business can have it both ways - the baby and the success - and there are countless successful and inspiring babes proving just that.

In the fine words of actress Susan Sarandon, "Children reinvent your world".

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Martha Maciejowski is a member of Babes in Business and a PR Consultant for KD Public Relations.

Martha Maciejowski PR Consultant KD Public Relations e martha@kdpr.com.au w www.kdpr.com.au