In a worrying development for equal opportunities across the globe, research from workspace solutions provider Regus has shown that the proportion of companies intending to hire more working mothers has slumped by one fifth since the same time last year.
Compared with a year ago, when 44% of companies planned to hire working mothers, only 36% expected to do so in 2011, the survey found.
“These findings will be of particular concern to women's groups as overall employment prospects brighten with the accelerating global economy in the new year,” Regus said.
The study also reveals that there is a residual proportion of businesses that continues to harbour concerns about employing working mothers, along with some detail as to what those concerns are.
When compared with overall business employment expectations, where 45% of companies globally intending to make new hires in 2011, the Regus study showed that intentions to employ working mums had fallen considerably below this level, causing considerable concern to families, women's groups and governments alike.
In SA, where 44% of companies plan to add staff, this trend is very evident, with only 31% of companies declaring they plan to hire more working mothers compared with 51% a year ago.
The report also reveals residual concerns among a minority of employers, who still fear that working mothers may show less commitment and flexibility than other employees (37%), leave shortly after training to have another child (33%) or have outdated skills (24%). In SA, employers were particularly concerned about the flexibility of working mothers (55%) and the risk that they may soon take time off to have another child (50%). - I-Net Bridge