Pregnancy hinders career progression: Survey

Women in Australia fear falling pregnant will stymie their career, according to research released by CareerOne.com.au. Almost two thirds of women believe becoming pregnant will have a negative impact on their career.

The research also found three quarters of female respondents believe it is difficult to be in a highly paid executive role and raise a family.

The majority of men (73%) don't think parenthood has any impact on their chance of landing a promotion.

In the lead up to a live panel discussion on career issues for women, CareerOne.com.au ran a series of surveys to gauge consumer sentiment on issues such as work/life balance, career progression and mentoring.

Conducted by CoreData for CareerOne.com.au, the research also found:

• 48% of women believe they have been passed over for job opportunities/promotions because of their gender   
• When asked why there are more men in senior ranks than women, most respondents stated it was because women weren't perceived as "tough" enough for a senior role
• Women are more likely to value assertiveness training than men
• Men generally don't think they need a mentor whereas women are more likely to want one. More than half of women stated that they wished they had a mentor compared to only 29% of men
• Overall, 37% of men don't think they need a mentor compared to only 16% of women who share the same sentiment

Commenting on the research, Kate Southam, editor of CareerOne.com.au said:

"There is a strong message here for employers who do not champion family friendly policies - 'do more'.

"We saw with the recent EOWA Business Awards that some of Australia's biggest employers are striving for that female-friendly tag yet the perception amongst employees is that parenting is career poison for women.

"A more positive message from the survey is how willing female employees are to develop new skills through training and mentoring compared to most blokes.

"In our rapidly changing world of work it appears from the survey women are most open to developing new skills - another reason for employers to look at their family policies if they want to retain their female employees.

"Employers also need to look at their workplace culture to ensure it is not biased towards male success. Nearly half our female respondents believed they were passed over for promotion because of their gender. That might not be the case but perception is everything when it comes to developing a strong employer brand.

"For women, the message is also clear: develop skills around positioning yourself for promotion. It is up to each individual to make career development a priority."   

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