Here at 9-2-3, the airwaves are alive with remarkable resolution, inspired innovation, and... well, actually, spectacular sneezing. From our completely non-scientific survey at the school gates, it seems that many of you will have been in the same boat this week. We're now deep into cold and flu season, and the Benylin is flying off the shelves faster than you can say "Darling, please don't cough on your sister's packed lunch." But who takes the helm when your family fall ill? We'd like to think, obviously, that in this enlightened age, both parents would step up to the plate. That mothers and fathers would take it in turns to work remotely in cases of smaller sniffles, or when the germs are really running riot, take equal amounts of time out of work. That there should be no difference in the impact of children's illness on the careers of mums and dads. Sadly, though, a recent Mumsnet survey suggests that we may still have some way to go on this front: responses suggested that 60% of women end up adjusting their work for ill children, compared to a rather disappointing 30% of dads.
Why might this be? Is it due to the gender pay gap - the fact that men are still statistically likely to be earning more than women, even in the same industries? And in a situation where women are being paid less, however unfairly, and we're in the midst of a cost of living crisis, are families more wary of prejudicing the promotion prospects of the higher earner? If this is the case, how can we break out of this cycle and reverse this trend, to ensure that caring responsibilities are shared fairly and that women's careers don't slide further behind their male counterparts through no fault of their own?
One obvious answer is to allow greater flexibility to both parents when children are ill. We've all had days where our children are too sick to head into school, but are also asleep in bed for most of the working day. Such is the nature of a feverish illness, after all. Enabling parents of both genders to work from home on days when the mercury rises and the symptoms are snowballing - and of course, where the poor child concerned is asleep and doesn't actually need a parent to be physically sitting with them - seems only sensible to us.
The numbers bear this out. According to a study by technology group Access people, between 2022 and 2023, the rate at which women took sick leave to care for ill children increased an astonishing 371%. Incidentally, this coincides with the period during which companies were starting to strongly encourage employees back into the office. A co-incidence? We're not sure... The corresponding rate for men did also increase, we should point out - but only by a rather tepid 13%. This rather suggests that whilst employees were permitted to work from home, they were able to continue working even when sick children were resting elsewhere in the home. Isn't that a better outcome for all concerned? From a company's perspective, more work would actually get done, and more money saved. From the employee's perspective, it would reduce stress about project timelines and letting colleagues down. From a child's perspective, it would probably also mean that fewer germy children would be sent into school because their parents were too worried about job security to be able to take the day away from work...
Sadly, there's just no getting around it: the fact that mothers are forced into taking time off to be with sick children more often than fathers is a significant obstacle to equality. It may in the long term lead to less supportive working relationships - and, in turn, sadly, that may lead to reduced promotion prospects and slower professional development. It's not at all clear why women should have to risk their career progression, and potentially even their job security, more often than their male counterparts, because of factors outside their control. The good news, though, is that the best companies are themselves striving for equality and diversity, and to enable women to continue working and to climb the career ladder. Offering flexibility in times of family illness is a simple, straightforward - and often free - way to try to ensure that women's careers are not disproportionately hampered by parenthood, and that talented and experienced female employees are able to stay in the workforce and use their skills to benefit their organisations.
So perhaps it's time for a call to action? To dads, to ensure that they're always sharing the responsibilities equally. To mothers, to expect their co-parents to take an equal hit. And perhaps most importantly, to all those of us who manage teams - to create an environment which is flexible enough to accommodate the inevitable ups and downs of winter bugs, and to support our people at working through the mountain of germs and onwards, into the spring sunshine.