The training was designed to raise awareness of how becoming a parent impacts upon people professionally. 

During the one-hour session, we help attendees understand the lived experience of parental returners, and how they can be active allies in helping to overcome challenges and barriers to participation so that UCA is able to create a culture where new parents want to return and can continue their career development.

We kicked off by looking at the impact of extended workplace leave on returning parents – for example, dips in confidence and feelings of disconnect from the workplace while also managing sleep deprivation and juggling childcare with the return to work. 

Together, we came up with ideas for how colleagues can be allies and help returners ease back into work, before discussing the importance of supporting and training line managers so they can anticipate these issues and proactively provide support.

The session then moved onto identifying potential barriers that prevent returning parents from working to their full potential and continuing on their career pathways – for example, workplace biases, access to development opportunities, lack of role models and feeling like their workplace is no longer a ‘good fit’.
 

Towards the end of the session, we devised a plan of action that the team at UCA – as colleagues, managers and partners - can use to create a more positive environment for parental returners.

Key takeaways included:

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• The importance of reviewing policies and benefits to make sure they’re working for everyone, while recognising that one size doesn’t fit all.

• Being proactive and devising a KIT communications plan before parental leave – talking openly about the level and type of communication expectant mums want while they’re on leave. 

• Developing understanding and empathy in colleagues and line managers.

• Avoiding making assumptions about how people feel about work once they have children.

• Ensuring staff on parental leave are kept informed about training, developmental and promotional opportunities.

Joe McCarron, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University for the Creative Arts, comments:

"We are focused on being a more inclusive employer and want to actively embrace and explore issues that are important and relevant to our staff rather than simply respond to sector trends or regulatory requirements.

We are aware Covid and lockdown was transformational in how we all work and had particular risks and opportunities for working parents. We wanted to explore the topic of parental allyship with our staff to better understand how well our culture is functioning in this respect.

We want to have a working culture that supports our returning parents to stay in the workplace and continue on their career pathways, rather than taking a role that is perhaps logistically easier but doesn’t necessarily give them the opportunity to work at their full potential. As an employer, if you can help people through career pinch points, they can progress and continue their careers. 

The Parental Allyship session with Emma gave us plenty of food for thought. I think most of us were surprised by some of the research Emma shared around the distribution of household chores and childcare. The theme that particularly resonated within our team was the impact of workplace assumptions and bias – the underlying assumption that as a new parent you're not fully engaged with your work because you've got other priorities. It’s important that we understand and tackle these biases – even if they are well-intentioned. 

Thanks to this session, our team have gone away with new information and actions that we can use to continue to create an empathetic, supportive and inclusive working culture here at UCA."