Recently myself and a few of my colleagues took a trip down to Manchester to attend Pregnant then Screwed, an event looking at all things related to maternity and employment.

It was a busy day with lots of varied workshops running continuously whilst the main stage welcomed a range of speakers. We heard from the hilarious Victoria Cook, who hosted the event and from many different women who had used their understanding of the difficulties women face with employment after having a baby to start their own businesses.

In particular, we were really interested in the Rock Your Return segment of the day. At this time we heard from the founder of Equality Pays, Michelle Gyimah,  the Director of Guilty Mother’s Club, Helen Bryce and Beyond the Bump Coaching’s Nicola Gibb. All the women encouraged those in the audience to be aware of their rights around maternity and to muster up the courage to ask that your employer gives you the benefits, flexibility and reasonable adjustments you are entitled to. It isn’t always easy to have these discussions, and we heard how female managers can be just as guilty of maternity discrimination as male ones. But being aware of your rights and being clear about what you would like and need as you return to work can make a huge difference. It was good to be in a space where everyone understood the myriad of issues that women can face at this time in their careers. It cemented for us just how needed support in this area can be and we were happy to share copies of our Mums Returning to Work guide that examines this very issue.

The event had given us more drive as we continue on in this important area of work. We know that many employers have good intentions but aren’t sure what to offer to new Mums. If you would like for your workplace to become a Mum Friendly Employer then get in touch by calling Outside the Box on 0141 419 0451 or by emailing alice@otbds.org.