Why Supporting Working Parents Means Supporting All Parents
Jessica Heagren
Careers After Babies Founder, Author & Accreditor | Speaker & Panellist | Fractional Strategy & Change Director | Transformation Expert | NED, Chair & Advisor | Passionate Diversity Advocate
When a company goes through accreditation with Careers After Babies, we receive feedback from their employees. So far we've heard from thousands of working parents.
There is one theme keeps standing out: men are afraid to ask for flexibility.
They fear judgment. They worry about being side-lined.
And while women have faced these challenges for years, true gender equality at work means recognising that both parents need to be part of the solution.
Most organisations still focus parental support on mothers. And whilst it's an absolute necessity, this alone won't fix it. We need:
With 75 points in our Careers After Babies framework for world-class employers of working parents, we know there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about getting the whole jigsaw to fit together and having workplace solutions in place that can be tailored to individual needs.
Why? Because we want to keep these people in our businesses where they belong!
And let’s remember: children are for life, not just for Christmas. Supporting parents isn’t just about maternity and shared parental leave — it’s about creating a culture that works for families long-term.
Things you should check out...
Job sharing comes up time and time again as an enabler of female progression. Join me next Wednesday when I'll be speaking to Chloe Fletcher of the Job Share Revolution about how to make job sharing work, how to sell it in to your business and where to get started!
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Ever wanted to be more confident at work? Lauren Currie OBE is your woman! Her next BOND closes this week so it's your last opportunity to sign up. In just a day Lauren transformed how I thought about myself so I cannot recommend her work highly enough!
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What's up next?
Coming in March, the Careers After Babies EVEN MORE uncomfortable truth survey will dive deeper into how workplaces impact not just mums in traditional roles, but also fathers, single parents, co-parents, and non-traditional families.
Stay tuned for insights—and in the meantime, let’s start rethinking workplace flexibility for all parents.
Until next time,
Jess
PS Pregnant Then Screwed have released their impactful new campaign today shredding the CV's of 74,000 women to represent the women that experience pregnancy discrimination each year. Love it!
Founder + CEO at Renala | Family retreats, community + coaching facilitated through play | Certified Coach | LEGO Serious Play | CliftonStrengths | Speaker | Author of Living Room Leadership (Releasing Oct. 2025)
1moLove that you're focusing on dads, too, Jessica Heagren! A recent study of dads to children 0-8 in Australia found that many grapple with conflict and guilt. In particular, many dads feel a lack of agency because they long for a deeper caring role for their children - but are met with relationship stress with their spouse or partner. That means these challenges aren't just present in the workplace, they're present at home. Families need better ways of learning to work together, which is exactly the work we do with families.
marketing and communications | triplet mom & military spouse
1moAbsolutely!
Senior Environment Officer for Sanctuary. Working to create sustainable and inclusive communities.
1moRob Procopiou of interest to you?