saw this and thought it might be of some help to you maz not sure though....
The best jobs for mums
There's no doubt that becoming a mum can put a serious kink in your career path. After years of working flat-out to make it to where you want to be, along comes baby and suddenly you're no longer the high flying career woman, you're a mother.
And to make matters worse, many bosses still struggle to see how women can combine being a mum with a successful career.
So much so that Trevor Phillips, head of the equality commission, pointed out mothers with children under 11 are 45% less likely to be employed than men and single mothers are even greater workplace pariahs - with 49% of them seen as unemployable by bosses.
MSN Money guide for raising a family
Jobs to avoid
While we might think we've come a long way since the days when women were persona non grata in the workplace, it still seems that when baby comes along we're back in Neolithic times when it comes to employment equality.
It doesn't seem to matter one iota that it's supposed to be against the law not to promote a woman who's pregnant, or refuse to hire one on the grounds that she may go off and have a baby. The fact is that, as Sir Alan Sugar owned up to, some bosses see women of child-bearing age as a potential hassle they simply don't want to bother with.
So, as a result, most women fail to combine a full-time career with caring for their children. A survey of 1,500 women found that only one in 10 stayed in full-time employment in the 11 years after the birth of their first child. And why? If it's not because no one will have them, it's because companies make it all but impossible to combine work and family life, with long hours, rigid working practices and the "nine-to-five, five-day week" work ethic still going strong.
So, what are your choices if you don't want to "have it all" as the now somewhat clichéd saying goes?
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1. Set up your own business
Top of the picks has to be setting up your own business. If you want to combine your business skills with all those juggling/time management/doing-10-things-at-once skills that you've developed as a mum, then doing it from home, and working for yourself is the best option.
According to AXA Assurance entrepreneurial mums generate on average £5,614 a year from home working. A survey found that on average they were generating £467.91 a month from home-based business ventures. And they only have to work an average 18.4 hours a week to do it.
And it's a growing trend. More than one in three new and expectant mothers want to become "mumtrepreneurs" and are looking at starting their own business from home, enabling them to combine child care with developing a steady income stream.
Guide to starting your own business
2. Go freelance
If you already have an established career, then why not think about leaving the office grind behind and going it alone? Working on a freelance basis means you get to do the job you love, but as and when you need to.
Frankly, there's no need to be stuck in the office five days a week when you can get what you need to do done and then still have time to take the kids to the park. And if your current role doesn't suit a freelance lifestyle then how about re-training and utilising your skills in a new way?
When Sarah Brodie had her son Ethan she decided she didn't want to go back to work full-time as a fitness instructor at the gym she worked at, but that was all that was on offer, so she re-trained as a lifestyle coach and now runs a successful freelance career with her role as a mum.
3. Take up a part-time role
Another option is to do what you did before, but go part-time. You might have to move to another company, but you can probably find a role in a similar line of work that lets you work fewer hours a week.
If you're in marketing or PR, project management, accountancy or law, then you are ideally placed to find a part-time position to fit in around your home life, according to the experts.
And help is at hand if your current employer fails to see the benefits of hiring you on a part-time basis, because there are plenty of other employers who will.
Proof of that is Capability Jane, Britain's first company devoted to returning highly qualified mothers to flexible work. The company, which was started by Sara Hill, aims to bring talented women, who have taken a career break, back up to speed using workshops and personal coaching and then matches them with local businesses looking for part-time or freelance staff.
"Women today often delay starting a family until their 30s in order to build a successful career. On returning to work after a break, they therefore bring with them at least 10 years of business and management experience," she said.
Sara, herself a mother-of-two, cites a Department of Trade and Industry survey which revealed that up to 70% of high-flying female professionals failed to return to their original jobs after having a baby because the long hours, the long commute or the requirement to work five days a week didn't fit in with family life.
Yet the research also showed that nearly 70% of these mothers were "very keen" to go back to work, if only they could find a role that lets them work several days a week, a shorter day or only during term time.
"These women don't want big salaries, impressive titles or fat benefit packages. They want to use their brains again but have the right work-life balance," she added. It's not too much to ask, is it?
Focus on women and money
The best professions for parents
So, which professions suit part-time or flexible working the most? Surprisingly, it seems that if you're lucky you can find a suitable role whatever line of work you're in.
Christine Bloomquist, a partner at law firm Reed Smith, has three children - one 13-months old, one six and one seven - and works a flexible, reduced-hours schedule that allows her to spend significant time with her children, while at the same time providing high-quality legal services to her clients.
"There are no hang-ups at Reed Smith about having to be physically present in an office to do a good job," she explained. "I work on a schedule that's about 80% of a full-time schedule and two days - typically Wednesdays and Fridays - I work from my home. On days that I am in the office, I leave by 4pm to be home in time to look after my family."
But she does appreciate that her firm is leaps and bounds ahead of many others in the legal profession in its attitude towards working mothers.
"The firm recognises that substantial and high-quality work can be done in a variety of settings, not just in the office. But I know that's in sharp contrast to other law firms where lawyers are required to be physically present in an office to be considered 'at work'," she added. In fact, so switched on is the firm that Christine was made partner while working her reduced hours schedule.
Other employers who are more than likely to offer flexible working for mothers are local authorities, the NHS, charities and IT companies. A list of mum-friendly employers is available at www.motheratwork.co.uk which currently lists 18 companies and their attitudes to flexible working and family life.
So, it seems that being a working mum, as always, involves compromise. But whether you want to make a fresh start with something new, adapt what you already do or fit whatever work you can in around family life, you can do it. It just requires using those finely-honed mum's juggling skills to their utmost.
Tue Jun 24 2008, 12:24
