Why is diversity important?

So, I'm here. Why am I here, I hear you ask? Well, I've been thinking about professional returners for a while. And not without reason. We've recently had our second child join us. Like most other parents, we've been talking about balancing work and life. Like most parents, we've been struggling to figure out how to make it all happen.

In all of this, I've been surprised by what we've found. Staggered. Some things are simply not easy for professionals who are mothers. Things us fathers take for granted. This just cannot continue.

When my daughter grows up, I want her to have a much better work environment and much better workplaces to go into. And I want to play my part. It is not enough for me to just excel at what I do. I want to make it a fairer work environment to get into and a better experience for all.

I want to explore what it takes to build diverse teams within technology. Especially, in my domain, the world of finance. Don't get me wrong, I'm still laser-focussed on building high-performing teams and kickass products within Capital Markets Technology. But after 20 years, I know I can do better.

That's why I'm here.

Employment Statistics - A Brief Look

Personal journeys aside, this isn't just an emotional argument (even though that alone is enough for me). There are statistics that back up why we need to talk about this, about professional returners, about flexibility, about diversity.

According to research conducted by PWC in 2016, approximately 550,000 professional women are on a career break in the UK for caring reasons. 427,000 are likely to manage to return to work in some capacity. 270,000 returners work below their potential. So that's about 50% who come back at the same skill level as before, whether working full time or part time.

Fifty percent (wow!) is a significant proportion of women whose career options are curtailed as soon as they have caring responsibilities. These figures are reflected in the US and India markets as well. In the UK alone, this career break penalty is estimated to be worth 1.7 billion pounds to the economy!

It's not all doom and gloom though. More recent surveys suggest labour force participation rates have risen for the women-under-40 category, up by 1.8 percentage points for young mothers. This is attributed to a variety of factors. Firstly, sectoral shifts, i.e. employment opportunities have moved from sectors dominated by men to other sectors. Secondly, the drive to supplement family income due to male partners being furloughed. And finally, the effect of homeworking.

So now that more mums are back in work, which is a fortunate happenstance, is our work done? Unfortunately not.

Some studies seem to think hybrid working is here to stay. Contrarily, some high-profile companies are calling workers back to office permanently, which means this is far from a settled issue. We need to be working to create environments where women can flexibly contribute to their fullest potential.

So What's the Answer Here?

Even within technology teams, none of our practices -- whether it be hiring, day-to-day activities, appraisals or promotions accommodate flexible working. Employers are missing out. We need to be devising work environments and practices to accommodate everyone. That diversity is known to produce greater innovation and better outcomes for firms. It is an untapped area, which, with a little effort could be tapped to the advantage of all, employers and employees alike.

So, let's start looking at all those aspects of our working lives and see what we can do to improve them. More soon.