Discover “Mommy at Work”, a French Organization Devoted to the Working Mom

A French organization called “Maman Travaille ” (Mommy at Work) is organizing a whole day dedicated to the working mom, a one of a kind event to be held in Paris on February 9^th.

The “Journée des mères actives ” is a one day conference featuring several expert panels with leading psychologists, sociologists, career coaches, journalists, human resources specialists, female networks, and of course, lots of working mothers!

There will be lots of discussions on the best ways to combine motherhood and a career. What are the best strategies to maintain a work-life balance? What are the main problems women face in this juggle? Are there professional alternatives to a regular 9 to 5 job?  These are all questions that will be addressed at the conference. 

No doubt, there will be lots of working mothers interested in these topics! Here’s a snapshot of the obstacles that women still face in their daily life in France:

• 350 000 nursery places missing
• 2% of companies have a childcare offer on hand for their employees
• 80% of domestic responsibilities are done by women
• 27.1% wage gap between men and women for equal jobs
• 86% of parental leaves are taken by women
• 17.2% of business owners are women
• 30% of active women work part-time VS 6% for men

As we wanted to know more about the project and the conference, we met up with the founder of “Mommy at Work”. Marlène Schiappa-Bruguière kindly accepted to answer our questions. Here is what she had to say!

What are your main objectives with this conference?

Marlène Schiappa-Bruguière: We have several in mind: firstly, we want to shine a light on the struggles working mothers face, as we have been trying to do for the past 4 years with the “Maman Travaille” organization. We have presidential elections this year in France and we are surprised that not a single candidate has decided to take on this topic, even if it’s something that everybody can relate to in their daily life.

We also want to be the crossroad where qualified experts can give information to people who really need it. Working mothers, human resources directors and professionals in the sector will be able to hear the best experts and specialists of work and motherhood.

Hopefully, we’ll attract an even bigger number of active mothers, make sure our message is heard and be able to organize a second conference in 2013!

Have things really changed in the daily life of working moms in recent years?
 
MS-B: When my first daughter was born in 2007, the work-life balance topic in France was pretty exotic! Today, even if things aren’t perfect everywhere, there is a healthy debate going on about childcare options, remote working or paternity leave… These a real topics that you can talk about with your employer without passing for a dangerous parenthood activist!

So, mentalities have evolved?

MS-B: Yes in a way, but we really see 2 different types of attitudes. First, there’s the HR manager who thinks that what we do is incredible, who will share personal anecdotes with us and who’s willing to have a debate on the work-life balance equation. Then, there’s the manager who doesn’t really see the connection between motherhood and work and who thinks it’s a bit funny to talk about family life in a workplace setting… 

What can we do to help women get rid of that “guilt” feeling?

MS-B: Most often, we are responsible for our own guilt. I think it’s important to always put things into perspective and to work on yourself to lower your expectations. Women put a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders, for example by taking on more than 80% of housework on top of their day job. This is not an acceptable situation and there’s no way you should feel guilty because you don’t have a spotless house. It should be the partner who’s doing 20% of the housework who feels guilty!

But don’t forget that having children opens the door to judgemental comments! You’ll always have a mother-in-law who thinks you should spend more time with your children; or a career-driven friend who thinks you’re incompetent because you “take your afternoon off” by leaving the office at 6 PM.  

We have to learn to step back, but we also have to change the way these stereotypes still affect people’s way of thinking. 

What are the main obstacles that you face in your action?

MS-B: Well, we have faced harsh criticism from certain women who say that we “think with our uterus” and that we are backwards in our approach. We are also labelled by other people as “ultra feminists”. We take this criticism as a proof that this is a fundamental battle!

The lack of willpower is also a big problem. There’s a lot of archaic reasoning out there! We hear a lot of comments like “I’m not sexist, but a network for pregnant women or working mothers… My boss thinks it’s a chick thing”.

Thankfully, some people change their minds once they meet us. Even if they don’t become a total supporter of our cause, we do bridge a gap.

Very often, HR managers and directors realize that work-life balance is a central issue of talent management, human resources and communication. We are sometimes pleasantly surprised when we see what some companies have already put in place in terms of childcare, professional equality and paternity issues… This is also why we wanted to organise a conference: to showcase all the companies who have great ideas for working mothers. There are a lot more than we think!

What are your solutions to help working mothers?

MS-B: We have listed 10 key solutions. Among them there is a better compensation of the paternity leave, developing  remote working, and the obligation for big companies to offer childcare places, or at least to participate in a multi-company childcare scheme (several employers pooling resources to open and share a nursery).

And I would say get informed about your rights!

You can also join our organization and attend our conference on February 9^th. Just follow the link journee-mamantravaille.com
 


Thank you Marlène, and on behalf of all working mothers, keep up your hard work!