Dr Rosemary Sutton
Pauline
Gallagher’s invitation to organise a workshop on family friendly practices at
the WAIS conference was a great opportunity for me to collect together my
thoughts on this subject, assisted by
feedback
from members of the CSIRO email discussion group focussed on women in science,
and information from Pauline herself. On the day, the workshop participants
raised lots of issues and the discussion flowed freely. Lesley Adams wrote an
excellent summary of the outcomes, that is posted on the web and can be
accessed via the CSIRO staff
Association or WISENET web
sites. In this article I have used some quotes from email responses I received
and I have drawn on some CSIRO statistics, to illustrate some of my points.
What are family friendly practices?
Family friendly work practices are work policies and work cultures or
attitudes which enable staff to meet their family commitments. Some practices
relate specifically to the care of newborn babies, and others also provide
options to facilitate caring for parents, partners, children and other family
members. A list of many such policies is provided in the text box.
Family friendly work means much more than maternity leave and part-time work
for new mothers in the workplace. We all have families. Many of us at some
stage of our lives have a role taking care of others, that conflicts to some
degree with the demands of our science based careers. Increasingly, men as
well as women are choosing to care or share caring for babies, children, aging
parents, and family members including same sex partners with disabilities or
illness.
Carers may want a few hours, a few days, a few months or a few years or a
regular arrangement of shorter hours or longer vacations to cope with their
commitments outside the workforce. Workplaces which are flexible enough to
willingly provide a range of options to solve common stumbling blocks, reap in
the long run the benefits of a loyal and contented, less-stressed workforce.
Profile of CSIRO carers
A survey of staff in CSIRO in 1998 by Falls Corporate Research Pty Ltd, showed that over 40% of staff have carer responsibilities, with a summary of results shown in the table. Surprisingly, the largest group -a fifth of all staff- are men who share equally in the responsibility for the care of their dependent children.
This group grew significantly between the EEO census in 1989 and the 1998 survey, with care shifting in about 10% of families from mothers to both parents. Of those with dependent children, men reporting that they shared equally in childcare increased (52.0% to 62.7%), and women reporting they were mostly responsible decreased (61.3% to 51.8%). The second largest group are mothers of dependent children (11% of total staff) which includes roughly equal numbers of women in primary and shared care roles. Not surprisingly, primary caregivers are still largely women. The third largest group is the 9.5% of staff who reported responsibility for caring for aged, disabled or other family members, with similar profiles for men and women. Any changes to family friendly work practices should reflect the diverse nature of these carers.
Improving policies
The workshop at the WAIS conference raised a few issues relating to the
actual
policies in place in different organisations. The group was largely women from
the universities, CSIRO and CRCs and expressed the view that the most problems
lay not in the policies per se but in an inability or reluctance to use them.
One exception raised was the need to provide alternatives to overseas
postdoctoral experience and sabbatical leave, which some women forgo because
of family responsibilities. Another was the need for more organisations to
provide re-entry fellowships for women who have taken extended career break to
care for children. In developing policies to address these issues, I believe
that it is vital not to exclude those men who are caught in the same dilemmas
that traditionally women face.
About half the responses I received from the CSIRO email group focussed on new family friendly policy options; the other half raising issues of organisational culture. I have included direct quotes from replies which cover some options raised. The high cost of child care and need for government subsidy or tax deductibility was an issue of key importance to both the CSIRO and WAIS groups. A hobby horse of mine – namely providing a 6 to12 week paid parental leave period for men who undertake to be primary caregivers to their newborn children within say the first 15 months - generated mixed reactions within CSIRO, but was well supported at the conference.
Improving Attitudes
Both the workshop participants and the CSIRO email respondents saw a need
for change in people’s attitudes and organisational cultures that restrict the
practical use of the existing policies. They perceived a lack of acceptability
- with breaks and working part-time for example being interpreted by
colleagues and managers as a lack of career committment or seen as unwarranted
perks, resulting in unspoken tensions and a reluctance to use them. The need
to support women taking these options was expressed. Men are perhaps
restricted to a greater extent by prevailing attitudes. I do however feel
encouraged by the progressive improvement I’ve seen over the last 20 years in
reactions to maternity leave.
What
else can we do?
The workshop came up with a number of recommendations
on what we can do, and what our employers and government can change to make
the workplace more family friendly. I’ve already touched on some of the
specific issues. On a personal level, it is important that we support women
and men in caring roles including those who make choices that are different
from ours. We can be more assertive in asking for access to specific “family
friendly” conditions and be prepared to be early users of the newer policies
available, knowing that it will be easier for others to follow. There is no
doubt that positive attitudes, role modelling and messages from organisational
leaders and senior managers are very beneficial - Malcolm McIntosh, the late
CEO of CSIRO was a shining example. We can also lobby governments to apply
pressure on government funded organisations and granting bodies to be more
equitable, to reduce child care costs and to implement the 1995
recommendations of the WISET report.
Role models -- mothers with scientific careers
I grew up believing that it was important for women to have careers, so that they could financially support themselves and their children if need be, but that I would postpone having children until I was ready to give up my job and therefore prepared to look after them full-time. As the years progressed and my career remained vital to me, perhaps I would never have got around to having children, if I had not become aware of women making a success of both. It is not a choice for every woman, but if one is prepared to be both highly organised and exhausted from time to time, one can do it! It is certainly made easier by supportive partners, families, friends and colleagues and employer organisations that care. To conclude, I’d like to name a few of the scientists who have combined career and motherhood in Australia and are sources of inspiration. Adrienne Clarke, Suzanne Cory, Elizabeth Dennis, Sue Serjeantson, Catherine Foley, Clare Rae, Elizabeth Deane, Elizabeth Heij, Annabelle Duncan, Anita Andrew, Merilyn Sleigh, Rosemary Irrgang, Miriam Baltuck, Julie Evans and Diana Temple.
Rosemary Sutton is a Senior Research Scientist who has worked for CSIRO
for 20 years. She was educated at PLC in Melbourne, the ANU in Canberra and
the University of Sydney. Her research has progressed from biochemistry to
molecular biology and genetics with projects ranging from plant responses to
ozone, changes in liver energy metabolism after birth, identifying allergens
in wheat flour, proteins involved in sheep reproduction, transgenic mouse
models, gene expression in developing wool follicles, pigmentation genes and
DNA testing in sheep.
Rosemary has 3 children aged 15, 12 and 9, a supportive spouse, and now works
part-time (70%) for CSIRO, to free up time for her to be involved in
after-school kids activities, walk her dog and swim regularly, and to be
National Convenor for WISENET.