Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy

Context

• While life expectancy is rising, fertility is falling. The situation is particularly worrying for countries such as Italy, where there are now fewer than 400,000 births a year, compared with 576,000 fifteen years ago.
• The rise of digital technology and nomadic tools is blurring the boundaries between work and private life for those who can work remotely. But while it is shaking up the way work is organised, it is also bringing greater flexibility. It also meets the new expectations of employees, and in particular those of parents.
• Parenthood is a major obstacle to the careers of women, who bear the brunt of family responsibilities. In the European Union, women are still under-represented on the labour market and in management positions.
• Tensions on the labour market remain high. In some countries, such as Germany, the shortage of skilled labour has become critical, particularly in construction, industry, IT and health. With the exception of the latter, these are sectors in which women are still under-represented.

Challenges

• For companies, taking parenthood into account not only meets general interest and CSR challenges, but is also a major lever for employer brand and performance. It makes it possible to:
• improve quality of life at work and enable employees to develop both professionally and personally, with the corollary of greater commitment and improved performance;
• balance the sharing of family tasks and advance gender equality within the company;
• attract and retain talent, particularly skilled profiles who are increasingly in demand;
• increase the company’s profitability.